I needed some comfort food this week and this baked Frittata was perfect.
First, it’s beautiful. The appearance of food is important to me. In my kitchen, the colors and textures of food (not to mention the plating) play an important part in my appreciation of food. The beautiful swirls of spinach and the specks of bright red pepper contrast so beautifully against the pale yellow egg custard in this dish.
This frittata is delicious. While the flavor is mild, there is a lot going on inside the custard with the savory additions–onions, peppers, goat cheese, and on and on. You could add other vegetables to your taste. I’m thinking mushrooms would be a great addition. I made this frittata with “Sweet Pointed Peppers” from Costco. They were sold by the bag and imported from Canada. They were so beautiful that I just had to buy them. Initially, I had planned to make them into a cream soup but decided they would be beautiful in this frittata. I’m thinking that poblano peppers would also work well in this recipe.
Finally, this is a supremely easy dish to prepare. It can be on your table in under an hour.
I paired a slice (OK. several slices) of this beauty with one of my friend Ellen Hoffman’s delicious rolls (recipe here.), a glass of rose and a Grisham novel.
This recipe is adapted from a Genevieve Ko recipe from The New York Times. You can find the original recipe here.
Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.
Frittata
Ingredients
- 8 large eggs
- 1/2 C. whole milk
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 C. diced onion
- 2 C. diced red peppers
- 5-ounces baby spinach (washed but not chopped)
- 4 oz. goat cheese
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Step 2 Prepare an oven-safe skillet by spraying it with cooking spray or greasing it with butter. I used an 10-inch cast iron skillet.
- Step 3 Prepare the egg custard. Put eggs in a medium bowl with milk, 1 t. salt and 1/2 t. pepper. Whisk the mixture until smooth. Set aside.
- Step 4 Sauté chopped onions and chopped red peppers in a teaspoon of olive oil until the vegetables are translucent and cooked. Season with 1/2 t. salt and 1/2 t. black pepper. This will take about five minutes on medium heat. Wash but do not chop baby spinach and add it gradually to the onion mixture, letting the spinach wilt each time before adding an additional portion of the spinach.
- Step 5 Reduce heat to low. Stir egg mixture into the onion and vegetable mixture. Stir the mixture so that the vegetables are well distributed in the custard. Drop small lumps of goat cheese on the top of the custard mixture.
- Step 6 Place the skillet with the frittata in your preheated oven and bake at 375 degrees F. for about 25-30 minutes. You want the eggs to set and you want the edges of the frittata to begin to brown. When frittata is done, remove from the oven and let it cool for about 10-15 minutes before cutting. Once the frittata is cooled to room temperature, you can serve it directly from the skillet or you can slip it out of the pan and serve it in a pretty quiche dish. This is great served in wedges with a green salad and a roll or sliced thin and served as a sandwich in a bun.
