Meatless Monday - Frittata

 December rewind continues with another of my go-to Meatless Monday meals.  Frittata is so easy to pull together in a pinch with whatever you happen to have in your fridge.  You can add meat, of course, but it makes such a wonderful, protein-packed meatless meal, so why even bother with meat?  Read on!


One of my quick, go-to meatless meals is a frittata. A frittata - at least the way I make it - is basically just a crustless quiche. I start it on the stove and end in the oven. It's a great meal to use up leftovers in the fridge. Virtually any vegetable is good in a frittata. You could even throw in a little meat if you want - a little bacon is a particularly good addition and sausage would probably also be good.

I am not a big fan of eggs - the taste does not appeal to me - so I like a frittata that has a lot of stuff in it. The egg acts more as a binder than anything, and all of the other flavors temper the egg flavor. My husband and I love this dish (though my husband likes quiche better - he's a crust fan), and it's growing on my kids too.

I like recipes. I like to fiddle with a recipe to make it my own, but I still like to have a base recipe to go by. Frittata is an exception. It's a very forgiving dish, and I usually just wing it. So, I'm going to give you a basic recipe, but don't be afraid to play around with it. Feel free to use less egg or more egg, different seasonings, a different cheese or no cheese at all, and of course whatever vegetables suit your mood. You can even go up or down with the oven temperature - just adjust the cooking time accordingly.

Without further ado, here is the basic recipe for the frittata that I made for our family last week. Enjoy!


Frittata

1 1/2 cups red potato, cubed
1 cup onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups broccoli florets, chopped and steamed
1/2 cup Jarlsberg cheese
4 eggs
1 cup skim milk
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Saute the potato and onion over medium heat in an oven-safe skillet with a little olive oil for about 10 min or until potato is tender. Stir frequently. Add broccoli florets and top with cheese.

Mix eggs, milk, salt, and paprika. Pour into skillet over broccoli/potato/onion mixture. Shake the pan a bit to distribute the ingredients. Cook over medium heat for 5-10 min or until the bottom starts to set up while the top is till a bit liquidy.

Move skillet to oven and cook for another 15-20 min or until the frittata has set up. A toothpick inserted about an inch from the center should come out clean.