A frittata is an open-faced Italian omelette traditionally filled with leftover meat and vegetables.  Growing up in an Italian household, we ate alot of these.  Frittatas are delicious served warm out of the oven, but also work well served at room temperature making it a good meal to serve any time of day.  It could be a wonderful breakfast, a great lunch or even a light dinner perhaps served with a side salad.  Extremely versatile.

There are infinite ingredient combinations for frittatas.   You can throw in whatever you have leftover from previous meals.  You can use various ingredients or use just one.  You can make an all veggie version, keeping things on the healthy side or you can be a little sinful and add some meat like bacon or sausage.

This combination is one of my favorites and I make it repeatedly.  I use broccoli, red potatoes and bacon.  If I have leftover mushrooms on hand, I put those in as well.

After the frittata comes out of the oven I allow it to come to room temperature.  I cut it into four large wedges and individually wrap them in saran wrap, storing in the fridge.  They will last up to 3-4 days.  Whenever I want to eat one I just pop it into the microwave for about one minute.  Easy!

Here’s what you will need to make one 10 inch frittata…

Recipe

5 whole eggs

3 egg whites

2 tbsp ricotta cheese

2 tbsp milk

6 slices of low sodium bacon

2 cups steamed broccoli, chopped

1 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)

one medium red potato

2 tbsp parsley, chopped

1 tbsp parmesano reggiano

salt & pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut potato in half lengthwise, put in a pot and cover with cold water.  Bring to a boil and cook until a knife inserted into the potato slides out easily, roughly 15 minutes.  Remove from pot and allow to cool.  Slice each potato half (widthwise) into thin half moon shapes. Steam broccoli until bright green and tender, about 10 minutes, chop.

In a large oven safe, non-stick skillet cook bacon slices until done, but not very crispy, turning occassionally.  Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain and cool.  Chop into 1 inch wide pieces.  Wipe out skillet leaving just a slight residue of bacon fat on the pan.  If you are using mushrooms add them to the pan now and saute until tender, 4-5 minutes.  To the pan add the potato slices, chopped broccoli and bacon.  Allow to cook together over a LOW flame, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes.

In a large bowl add the eggs, egg whites, ricotta, milk, parsley, cheese and salt & pepper.  Whisk until combined and the ricotta is no longer in clumps.  Over a LOW flame, pour the egg mixture on top of the broccoli mixture and stir slowly to combine all ingredients.  You will slowly stir the mixture for about 1 minute slightly cooking the eggs.  Once you notice the egg mixture is thickening stop stirring and flatten down the ingredients gently with the back of the spatula.  Continue to cook over the low flame for about 5 minutes, or until you notice it firming up and the eggs are starting to pull away from the sides of the pan.  The center of the frittata will still be liquidy.

Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook for about 15 minutes or until the center of the frittata is no longer liquidy.  I then like to turn on the broiler and cook for about 1 minute, allowing the top to turn a light golden brown color.  The frittata will puff up slightly.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool.  As it cools it will de-puff, don’t worry, that’s normal.

**If you don’t have an oven safe skillet (yours has a plastic handle) wrap the handle completely with aluminum foil before putting it into the oven.