Summer Vegetable Fritatta
Days that are 95º with 100% humidity do not exactly make one want to rush home and start cooking elaborate dinners which makes this easy-to-whip-up veggie-filled frittata kinda perfect right now. It requires barely any advance prep work, most of the cooking can be done on top of the stove, except for a short stint in the oven and under the broiler and it's nice and light for when it's just too hot to "stomach" anything heavier. Not bad for a Monday night, huh?!!
I really love frittatas. Fortunately, so does the rest of my crew! Besides being easy to prepare they're extremely versatile. Got some broccoli you've got to use up? Toss it in! Hate broccoli but love zucchini? Use that instead. Those vine ripened tomatoes you bought at the farmers market and had the best of intentions of using for a Caprese salad but just didn't get around to and are now less than perfect, bring them back to life here. You get my drift--use whatever veggies you have on hand and don't stress out about it. We're in worry free territory here!!
The same goes for the cheese. Feel free to use any kind you like or have on hand. Here I used freshly grated Parmesan, but practically anything would work well--cheddar, Monterey jack, swiss, etc. Remember--no stress, people!
Pair it with a simple salad or some little roasted potatoes that somebody at home happened to throw in half an hour before you got home and dinner is a winning slam dunk! Stay cool, guys!
Summer Vegetable Frittata
Serves 4
Prep Time: About 25-30 minutes
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1-inch rounds
8 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream (I used light)
1 small red onion, chopped
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large tomato, cut into small chunks
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
The Recipe
1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
2. In a cast iron skillet or heavy frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium high heat and saute the zucchini on both sides until softened and golden brown. Transfer to a plate but don't wash the skillet.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and then add the sour cream and salt and pepper to taste and whisk together. When the zucchini is done, add the remaining oil to the pan and then add the onions and green beans and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every often, until the beans and onions are tender. Add back in the zucchini and the tomato and season with a bit more salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Then, add in the egg mixture and stir again so that everything gets mixed together well. Sprinkle the top evenly with the Parmesan and let cook for about 2-3 minutes in the skillet, until the edges are set.
4. Place the skillet in the oven and bake for about 8 minutes, until it looks puffed and almost totally set. Then turn on the broiler and let it cook for another minute or two until the frittata looks golden brown and the cheese gets all bubbly. Remove from the oven and run a rubber spatula around the edges to help loosen it. Transfer to a large plate or simply just cut slices from the pan and serve immediately. By the way, if there are any leftovers, this tastes pretty good cold too.
Enjoy!
Note: Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart. I subbed in zucchini for the broccoli and upped the amount of veggies used too. Plus, the original recipe called for roasted potatoes to serve with it--sometimes I make this with them but you really don't need them--it's great on it's own and if you want to keep oven time to a minimum, a nice cool salad as a side works really well here too!
