Frittatas: Foolproof & Delicious
This one goes out to my new friend Kasia, who loves my frittatas.
You can put just about anything in a frittata.
My husband has a soft spot for films and TV series about newsrooms — everything from Network (1976) to The Morning Show (2019) — so we’ve watched the 2010 rom-com Morning Glory quite a few times. In the penultimate scene, ill-tempered newsman Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford) wins back his plucky, earnest producer Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) with an impromptu on-air cooking segment. “I’ve been making frittatas for 20 years now,” Ford softly growls as he lightly beats a few eggs, “Occassionally I make them at home, but only for people I really care about.”
As Ford’s character explains, you can put just about anything in a frittata. They can be eaten hot, cold or at room temperature. Whenever eggs start piling up around the house — often in spring, when the chickens are on overdrive — frittatas come into regular rotation on our menu. I make them in a muffin pan — inspired by Giadia de Laurentiis — so they can be eaten out of hand, and, even more important, I can vary the fillings to accommodate picky eaters in our house. Someone pointed out to me that the smaller cooking area also means the egg will cook more evenly, so the edges don’t dry out before the middles are set.
Seriously, whatever you have in your fridge or coming out of your garden will likely work great in a frittata. Get creative! Here are a few suggestions.
Whole tomatoes, diced, or cherry tomatoes, quartered
Any kind of cheese—chevre, feta, and Parmesan are favorites at our house
Peppers, chopped small
Mushrooms, sliced thin and lightly sautéed in a pan with a bit of butter to cook off the moisture
Herbs—basil, parsley, chives
Smoked salmon, cut in thin strips or chopped small
Leafy greens like spinach, escarole or tat soi, chopped or torn.
Here’s a basic recipe—riff and make it your own. Just note that if you omit the potatoes, you’ll probably need an additional 2-3 eggs so that each well of the muffin pan is adequately filled.
Ingredients:
Table or sea salt and pepper
Spray or liquid vegetable oil
1 tbs unsalted butter
12 eggs, preferably from pastured hens (the flavor really is better)
2 small Yukon Gold potatoes
2 cloves garlic
Cheese: 1/2 cup chevre or feta, crumbled
Herbs: 2 tbs basil or chives
Filler: 1 large heirloom tomato or 8 oz smoked salmon
For these last three ingredients, choose one or the other, or substitute out for a similar ingredient. For example, instead of tomato or smoked salmon, slice and sautée 5 or 6 cremini mushrooms.
Set oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 425.
Stack basil leaves, roll and slice for a pro-chiffonade.
Peel and chop the potatoes into small dice (each piece about 1/4 or less). Peel garlic cloves and mince or push through garlic press. Set aside.
Melt butter over medium heat in non-stick pan. Add diced potatoes and sprinkle with a pinch to 1/2 tsp salt. Add about 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper. Sautée, stirring occassionally, until potatoes are soft and starting to brown—about 5 minutes.
Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant—about a minute more. Remove pan from heat.
While potatoes and garlic cool, coat the 12 wells of a muffin pan with non-stick spray or pour about 1/4 cup vegetable oil in a small bowl, and using a cloth or paper towel, rub oil all around the inside of the wells.
Crack eggs into a large bowl (if not using potatoes, remember to add 2-to-3 eggs). Add 1 tsp salt and gently whisk until yolks and whites are combined. Do not beat heavily.
Divide potato/garlic mixture evenly amongst the wells of your oiled muffin pan.
If using tomato, cut it into quarters, remove the core and seeds, then chop into about the same size pieces as the potato. If using smoked salmon, cut into thin strips or chop into small chunks. Distribute evenly amongst the muffin wells.
Crumble your cheese and distribute it evenly amongst the muffin wells.
If using basil, rinse and gently pat dry. Basil bruises easily, so handle with care. Stack the leaves on top of each other, roll them loosely the long way, then cut into small strips. If using chives, rinse, stack them up, and chop-chop-chop-chop or cut into small pieces with kitchen scissors. Sprinkle 1 tbs of your herbs evenly amongst the muffin wells, reserving 1 tbs for garnish at the end.
Using a 1/3 measuring cup, scoop the egg mixture out of the bowl and pour into the muffin wells, distributing evenly. The egg level should be about 1/4 inch from the top. Note: If you fill the wells all the way to the top, the egg will likely run over the sides of the pan as it starts to cook. When this overflow hits the floor of your oven, it will burn and stink like hell. You might want to put your muffin pan on a rimmed baking sheet to avoid this happening.
Carefully place the muffin pan in the preheated oven and cook for about 10 minutes, until no liquid remains on the surface of the frittatas, and they start to turn a bit golden. Note: Your frittatas will be fluffy and gorgeous when they’re ready to come out of the oven, but when they start to cool they will collapse. Fear not! This is normal.
Remove the pan from the oven and allow the frittatas to rest until they are cool enough to handle. Run a knife along the outer edges of each frittata to release any bits that have adhered to the pan. Use the knife or a small spatula to lift the frittatas out of the pan. Place on a serving tray. If you’ve made an assortment of fillers, use some of the filler, and the reserved herbs, as a garnish on top to help identify the different varieties.
Enjoy!