Frittata—the amazing flexible dish!
Someday (hopefully next year), we here at Oakhill Organics hope to have a small flock of chickens. Our primary reason is for their multiple useful applications in bed cleaning, weed seed eating, and bug pecking—but we also love eggs. Eggs can make an otherwise ultra-light (i.e. leaves you hungry) vegetable dish into a heartier, filling meal. Case in point: the frittata.
Frittatas are like big baked omelets. We love them because they’re tasty and because, like omelets, they are super flexible. They are a great way to incorporate several vegetables into a baked dish that’s pretty enough to serve for company. Here are some of the basics of frittatas, along with suggestions …
A frittata basically has three parts: filling (usually vegetables—some precooked—but bacon or ham would add a nice flavor as well); a topping (usually cooked rice, roasted potatoes, or bread); and an egg custard that ‘sets’ it all in place.
To make a frittata, first choose what kind of veggies you want to include and consider whether they would benefit from being sautéed, roasted or steamed before inclusion (things like onions will remain mostly raw if simply baked without precooking).
Some good vegetables for frittatas are: summer squash, onions, fennel, kale, beet greens, beans, eggplant, peppers, and others. Think about a flavor combination that would please you: perhaps eggplant, peppers, kale, and basil; or summer squash, fennel, and basil.
Once your vegetables are prepared (chopped, cooked, etc.), grease a baking pan (7 x 11 or 9 x9). Prepare the custard mix by combining 6 eggs, 1 ½ cups milk, 3 ounces of cream cheese (or other grated cheese), and ½ teaspoon salt.
Layer the vegetables in your dish. Cover evenly with 3 cups of rice or roasted potatoes or 2 cups of croutons or toasted bread cubes (we save our old stale bread in the freezer for this purpose). Pour the custard over the whole dish, making sure that the topping is covered. To finish, if you like, sprinkle the top with grated parmesan or other cheese.
Bake at 350° for about 40-45 minutes, or until the custard is just about set. You can either finish it at this temperature (wait until the top is golden brown), or carefully lift the pan up under the broiler for the last few minutes. After pulling out of the oven, let the frittata ‘sit’ for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Zucchini Bread
From Asparagus to Zucchini (the 2nd edition)
3½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 large zucchini or summer squash, grated (2½ cups)
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pans. Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Combine zucchini, sugar, eggs, and oil in a large bowl and mix well. Stir dry ingredients into zucchini mixture just until combined. Toast nuts in hot oven 10-12 minutes, tossing often. Let nuts cool and fold into mixture. Transfer batter to loaf pans. Bake 50-55 minutes, then remove bread from the pans and cool on racks. Two loaves.
