Frittatas: Fancier than scrambled eggs, not quite as elegant as an omelet.
Frittatas live in that gray area between two of America’s favorite brunch foods, or rather the yellow area. A baked egg dish with various ingredients inside, they are hearty, not delicate; filling, not frilly.
That is why you can eat them at any time, for any meal and at any temperature — hot, warm, room temperature or chilled.
Best of all, they are the ultimate blank slate. You can make them with anything you like. You are limited only by your imagination.
Even with my limited imagination, I managed to come up with five examples. They range from spicy to savory to sweet, with meat, with seafood and vegetarian. Mostly, I drew my inspiration from other dishes, figuring that whatever works without eggs has a good chance of also working with them.
Like bagels and lox. It’s one of my favorite breakfast meals, and I often even have a scrambled egg or two (or three) on the side. In its honor, I made what I call a No-Bagel Frittata: smoked salmon, onions and maybe some capers cooked in a frittata.
I even mixed in some cream cheese. You can’t have bagels and lox without cream cheese, even if you aren’t using bagels.
It tasted even better than I’d hoped. The creamy tang of the cream cheese plays beautifully off the eggs, and the smoked saltiness of the salmon adds a lovely high note that is countered by the earthy undertone of sautéed onions.
But when I brought out all the frittatas to our hungry taste testers, the No-Bagel Frittata was not the one to go first. The one that was gobbled up almost instantly was what I call the Frittata Lorraine.
It has bacon in it, enough to imbue the entire dish with its irresistible flavor. And, of course, nothing goes with eggs like bacon, just as nothing goes with bacon like eggs.
Unless you add cheese. I added cheese — Gruyere, to be exact, though Jarlsberg or Swiss would also be good. And because I put milk in all of my frittatas to make them creamier and more custardy, I basically ended up with a crustless quiche lorraine.
My next effort is based on what is probably my favorite frittata I have ever had at a restaurant. It’s a mixture of vegetables mixed into the egg with curry powder, and sriracha sauce on the side.
For my version, I used potato, onion, zucchini, carrot, green pepper, mushrooms and tomato. I thought about celery, too, but that seemed excessive.
The trick lies in getting all of the bite-sized pieces of vegetables to the same degree of doneness. So I started with the potato, which takes the longest, added the onion and carrot, and finally ended up with the rest of the vegetables. While these were cooking, I seasoned them with curry powder so the vegetables would have that warm, exotic flavor. Then when I poured in the eggs and milk, I added more of the powder so the eggs, too, would be flavored with curry.
The result? Oh, my.
And if you like sriracha, by all means serve it with the frittata. It takes it to another level altogether.
I stuck with brunch favorites for my next frittata. Working off the pleasing combination of cheese and eggs, I decided to create a frittata based on a cheese strata.
In a traditional cheese strata, the eggs and milk completely soak into the bread overnight, so you essentially end up with cheesy French toast. But for my Strata Frittata, I suspended cubes of toast in the cheese-filled custard. This way, it’s an egg dish rather than a bread dish.
And don’t forget the mustard. A half-tablespoon of Dijon is absolutely required to put this strata into the stratosphere.
I saved dessert for last. This time, my inspiration came from crepes suzette, those delicious orange and butter-filled treats.
For my Suzette Frittata, I put fresh orange juice and zest into my eggs, along with sugar and more butter than usual. I also increased the amount of whole milk I used to make a creamier dessert.
But that’s not the best part. With traditional crepes suzette, you flame the dessert with ignited Grand Marnier to create a superb sauce. I didn’t want a sauce with my frittata, but I did want the Grand Marnier. So I simply added it to the egg mixture.
The result was enchanting. The Grand Marnier contributes a hint of mystery to the dish, and the sweetness of the sugar is nicely balanced by the faint bitterness of the zest.
This is a grown-up, fully flavored frittata. It may be more elegant than an omelet, after all.
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NO-BAGEL FRITTATA
Yield: 4 servings
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 onion, chopped
4 ounces smoked salmon, chopped
8 eggs, lightly beaten
3 ounces (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) whole milk
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons capers, optional
Salt and black pepper
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat, melt 1/2 tablespoon of the butter. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in smoked salmon and cook a minute or 2 until it changes color. Set aside.
3. Pour the eggs and milk into a large bowl. Add cream cheese in marble-sized chunks, along with optional capers and enough salt and pepper for 8 eggs (if the salmon is salty, do not add more salt). Whisk until just mixed.
4. Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter to skillet and stir to coat the sides. It’s fine if some of the onions and salmon stick to the sides. Add egg mixture and place in oven. Bake until eggs are just set, 15 to 20 minutes.
Per serving: 279 calories; 22 g fat; 11 g saturated fat; 292 mg cholesterol; 17 g protein; 4 g carbohydrate; 3 g sugar; 0 g fiber; 667 mg sodium; 104 mg calcium
Nutrition analysis used unsalted butter.
FRITTATA LORRAINE
Yield: 4 servings
8 eggs, lightly beaten
6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
4 ounces shredded Gruyere cheese, or Jarlsberg or Swiss
3 ounces (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) whole milk
Salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, bacon, cheese, milk and enough salt and pepper for 8 eggs, until just mixed.
3. Melt butter in an ovenproof skillet. Swirl around all sides. Add the egg mixture and place the skillet in the oven. Bake until eggs are just set, 15 to 25 minutes.
Per serving: 347 calories; 26 g fat; 12 g saturated fat; 403 mg cholesterol; 25 g protein; 2 g carbohydrate; 2 g sugar; no fiber; 587 mg sodium; 367 mg calcium
Nutrition analysis used unsalted butter.
HOT MESS FRITTATA
Yield: 4 servings
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 potato, cut into 1/2 to 3/4-inch cubes
Salt
1/2 onion, chopped
1 carrot, sliced thin
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup diced tomato
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder, divided
5 medium mushrooms, quartered
1/2 zucchini, chopped
8 eggs, lightly beaten
3 ounces (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) whole milk
Freshly ground black pepper
Sriracha, optional
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In an ovenproof skillet, melt 1/2 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes and salt to taste (potatoes need a lot of salt), cover and cook, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes.
3. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, onions, carrots, green pepper, tomato and 1 teaspoon of the curry powder. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, an additional 5 minutes. Uncover, add mushrooms and zucchini, and sauté until all the vegetables are cooked through, about 5 minutes more.
4. Meanwhile, add eggs, milk, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon curry powder and enough salt and pepper for 8 eggs into a large bowl. Whisk together until just mixed. Pour into the skillet and place in oven. Bake until just set, about 20 minutes. Serve with sriracha, if desired.
Per serving:241 calories; 15 g fat; 6 g saturated fat; 386 mg cholesterol; 15 g protein; 12 g carbohydrate; 5 g sugar; 2 g fiber; 170 mg sodium; 106 mg calcium
Nutrition analysis used unsalted butter.
STRATA FRITTATA
Yield: 4 servings
8 eggs, lightly beaten
6 ounces sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3 ounces (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) whole milk
Salt and black pepper
2 pieces white toast, cut into small cubes
1 tablespoon butter
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cheese, mustard, milk, and enough salt and pepper for 8 eggs, until just mixed. Stir in cubes of white toast. Set aside for 3 minutes.
3. In an ovenproof skillet, melt butter, swirling around on all sides. Add egg mixture and place in oven. Bake until eggs are just set, 15 to 25 minutes.
Per serving: 383 calories; 28 g fat; 14 g saturated fat; 427 mg cholesterol; 25 g protein; 10 g carbohydrate; 2 g sugar; no fiber; 539 mg sodium; 417 mg calcium
Nutrition analysis used unsalted butter.
SUZETTE FRITTATA
Yield: 4 servings
8 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon orange zest, minced
1/3 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, divided
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
Salt
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons butter
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, add eggs, zest, orange juice, 1/4 cup of the sugar, Grand Marnier and salt to taste (remember, you are seasoning 8 eggs). Whisk until just mixed. Add milk and whisk again until just mixed.
3. Melt butter in a large, oven-proof skillet, swirling it around all the sides. Add egg mixture and place skillet in oven. Cook until eggs are just fully set, 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and turn oven to broil. Sprinkle the remaining 1 teaspoon sugar evenly over the top and broil on the top rack for 3 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
Per serving: 298 calories; 16 g fat; 7 g saturated fat; 390 mg cholesterol; 14 g protein; 21 g carbohydrate; 18 g sugar; no fiber; 195 mg sodium; 96 mg calcium
Nutrition analysis used unsalted butter and large eggs.
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