The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Flexible Frittata is thick, satisfying omelet
Just reach for a carton of eggs and turn the whole thing into a one-skillet meal. Leftovers? Not at all. The Flexible Frittata is a thick, satisfying omelet.
What to do on a busy weeknight when you poke your head into the fridge and discover a variety of souvenirs left over from previous meals — including veggies, protein and starch? Just reach for a carton of eggs and turn the whole thing into a one-skillet meal. Leftovers? Not at all. The Flexible Frittata is a thick, satisfying omelet.
And just as with a French omelet, you can toss almost anything into a frittata. There are only a few rules. The first is to make sure that every ingredient has already been cooked — a frittata spends so little time in the oven that an uncooked piece of meat or a raw vegetable will never be cooked through. Secondly, all the ingredients must be chopped up before they’re added to the frittata so that they can be evenly distributed.
Otherwise, have fun. I’ve specified red bell pepper in this recipe, but you’re welcome to swap in broccoli, green beans, cauliflower, carrots, or mushrooms. Instead of sausage, you can roll with leftover pork chops, steak, rotisserie chicken or shrimp. No cartons of cooked rice sitting in the refrigerator? How about potatoes, pasta, quinoa or farro? Similarly, if you happen to be rich in scraps of various flavorful cheeses, use them to replace the Parmigiano-Reggiano. And, happily, becausemost of its parts have been cooked ahead of time, making the frittata takes very little time and effort — about 40 minutes from start to finish, only 20 minutes of which is handson. Servewith a simple salad and some crusty bread.
Ultimately, you might decide to add a frittata like this to your weekly line-up. It’s the perfect vehicle for leftovers ... but nobody digging into it will be thinking of leftovers.
The Flexible Frittata
Start to finish: 40minutes (20minutes active) Servings: 6to 8
INGREDIENTS
3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 11⁄2 cups chopped onion 11⁄2 cups chopped red bell pepper 2cups chopped (halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise 1⁄4-inch thick), cooked Italian sausages Dozen large eggs 1⁄2 cup sour cream 11⁄2 cups cooked rice 11⁄2 ounces grated Parmigiano-Regianno 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt 1⁄2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350F. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and red bell pepper, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5minutes. Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pieces are lightly browned, about 5minutes. Meanwhile, in amedium bowl, whisk together the eggs and the sour cream. Add the rice, cheese, salt and pepper; stir well. When the sausages are browned, pour the egg mixture over the meat, shaking the pan to make sure it is evenly distributed. Cook the frittata until it is just beginning to stick and set up at the edges, 5to8minutes. Transfer to the oven and bake on the middle shelf until just set, 10to 15minutes. Remove from the oven, preheat the broiler and return the frittata to the middle shelf to brown briefly before serving. Nutrition information per serving: 370calories; 227 calories from fat; 25g fat (9 g saturated; 0g trans fats); 462mg cholesterol; 697mg sodium; 14g carbohydrate; 1g fiber; 3g sugar; 20g protein.