This week I present to you one of my favorite weeknight dishes! The frittata!
You can do ANYTHING with a frittata! They are so versatile and easy to throw together in a pinch. All you need is whatever leftover vegetable you may have laying around in your fridge, some eggs and maybe some cheese (and when I say maybe, I really mean absolutely cheese!!!!). This week I had some left over broccoli from the night before that I had quickly cooked in the microwave. I used fontina cheese for this recipe, but a creamy goat or cheddar would work great as well. You can have it for breakfast, lunch or dinner... all delicious options.
I like to make my frittatas on the lighter (*less cholesterol) side, meaning I usually mix in a carton of egg whites to about 6 whole eggs. It still comes out fluffy and delicious, just not as rich. I feel I can be a bit more liberal with the cheese when I do that. If you'd like a richer tasting frittata, use 12 whole eggs and omit the whites.
*Side note: Despite all the buzz over the decision by the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee to drop previous warnings related to high dietary cholesterol intake (like from eggs), there remains a strong body of evidence to support that diets lower in saturated fats, cholesterol and sodium are still best for preventing heart disease (Scientific Report 2015 Dietary Guidelines chpt. 2 pg. 43). Bottom line, the American diet is overloaded with fatty high cholesterol foods, so cut down when you can. But, it's more important to improve the quality of your diet and include more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and less animal products for best health.
Ok. Now that's out of the way, on to the recipe!
The basic method for making a frittata is simple. It starts out as if you were making scrambled eggs. Your egg mixture is poured over veggies (or incorporated into egg mixture) into an oven safe non stick pan or skillet and cooked half on the stove, half under the broiler. If you have no leftover cooked broccoli, you can certainly sauté the broccoli in the pan with a bit of olive oil until tender, then pour the eggs over them. Once you see the sides start to pull away from the pan and the center of the frittata to begin to set, I pop it under the broiler until golden brown. You can serve it with potatoes, bread, salad, soup or heck, all of the above... if you're really that hungry!
Fontina and Broccoli Frittata
Ingredients
- 16 oz. carton organic egg whites
- 6 large organic eggs
- 1 cup cooked broccoli florets
- ⅓ cup grated fontina cheese + more for topping
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped chives + more for topping
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- olive oil to coat pan
Instructions
- Turn on the broiler of your oven to high.
- Heat and oil a medium sized (10 inch), oven safe nonstick or cast iron skillet on medium heat.
- Whisk together egg whites and eggs.
- Add in the broccoli, cheese, chives, salt and pepper and gently combine.
- Pour mixture into pan and let cook until the eggs begin to pull apart from side of pan and start to set about 6-7 minutes.
- Transfer pan to broiler for another 5 minutes until top of frittata is golden brown. Be sure to keep a close eye on it so it doesn't burn or dry out. The frittata should have a custard like consistency when done.
- Top with additional grated cheese and chives.
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