We’ve ALL been there.
Time to make dinner.
You open the fridge and are staring at a carton of eggs, ½ pint of mushrooms, kale that has seen better days, and half a wedge of cheese.
It’s too late to go the store.
You ordered pizza last night.
You take a deep breath and………
Make a Frittata!
Frittatas are a fantastic (and easy!) way to use up remnant veggies, odd bits of cheese and create a delicious easy 5 ingredient dinner that’s on the table before your kids can say “What’s for dinner?”
An added bonus --- you can make it all in the SAME PAN!
You can use as many ingredients as you want, but for a basic frittata you only need FIVE. Eggs and cheese are the guests you always invite to the party. The other 3 guests can be divided between meat (sausage is a favorite, but bacon is just as tasty!), veggies and herbs. You can also add ½ cup of heavy cream, yogurt, whole milk, sour cream or crème fraîche. This will add a more custard consistency to the frittata.
You start by sautéing up the veggies (feel free to add diced onion and garlic, too). The next step is to whisk together eggs, cheese and herbs. Pour egg mixture in with your sautéed veggies and cook on medium heat until the sides of the frittata start pulling away from the sides of your pan. Once it’s almost set (not wiggly or jiggly – it will start looking like an open faced omelet) stick the pan in the oven and……..
VOILA! Dinner is served!
Here’s one of my families favorite frittata recipes. Don’t feel like you need to use the exact ingredients. Use whatever bits and pieces of ingredients you have in your fridge.
SPINACH AND PROSCIUTTO FRITTATA
12 whole large Eggs
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (you can substitute Gruyere)
1/2 cup grated Cheddar (or Monterey Jack – or both! You can also use Fontina, Goat Cheese, or Ricotta)
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 cups spinach leaves (here’s where you can substitute any veggie --- mushrooms, kale, tomatoes, asparagus, zucchini)
4 slices of prosciutto, torn into bite size pieces
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian leave parsley
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
In a large bowl beat the eggs and season generously with salt and pepper. Stir in the ½ cup grated Cheddar, parsley and set aside.
In a large ovenproof non-stick skillet (if you have a well seasoned cast iron skillet this is the perfect time to use it!), melt butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for several minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and golden brown. Add the kale (or your vegetable – or vegetables – of choice) and sauté for about 5-10 minutes until they start to soften and get a bit brown. Add the prosciutto and stir it with the other ingredients for 1 minute.
Using a wooden spoon, or spatula, evenly distributed all the ingredients across the bottom of the skillet, then pour in the egg mixture so that it evenly coats everything. Sprinkle with ¼ grated Parmesan. Let it sit on the burner for 30-45 seconds to set the edges, then put it in the oven.
Watch the frittata as it cooks. Let it cook in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the eggs are set but remove it before the eggs brown very much on top.
Slide the frittata out of the skillet and onto a cutting board. With a long serrated knife, slice it into wedges and serve warm.
Here are links to other frittata recipes here and here. Other 5 ingredient dinners can be found here, here and here.
Happy Cooking!
Lisa
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