I was looking for a different way to use some of our abundance of spinach and decided a frittata would be a good choice. Frittata is the Italian name for a flat open faced omelet. They are quick to make and can be enjoyed warm or at room temperature, not only just for breakfast, but at lunch and dinner as well. In the late Marcella Hazan’s The Classic Italian Cookbook, she delineates three distinctions between the omelet and the frittata.
- An omelet is cooked briefly over high heat, a frittata is cooked slowly over low heat.
- An omelet is creamy and moist, just short of runny. A frittata is formed and set, although by no means, stiff and dry.
- An omelet is rolled or folded over into an oval tapered shape. Frittatas are flat and perfectly round.
This recipe’s framework came from a recipe on the Cooks Illustrated website. It called for a dozen eggs and just a few tablespoons of half and half to add some creaminess. The original recipe was for a frittata with broccoli rabe, sun dried tomatoes and fontina cheese. I substituted four cups of lightly packed spinach with the large stems and ribs removed for the rabe. The spinach was just picked and washed so I was able to cook it down quickly with just the water that clung to the leaves, so very little oil was needed in the pan. I substituted my favorite French feta for the fontina, since spinach and feta are such a good combination. The sun dried tomatoes called for in the original recipe were oil packed. The sun dried tomatoes I used were ones I made last summer with Sun Gold tomatoes from the garden. They just needed to be reconstituted in some warm water for about ten minutes to bring them back to life. I was surprised (and pleased) that the skin came off in the process. I chopped them roughly before adding them to the frittata.
A heavy bottomed oven safe non stick skillet is absolutely necessary to make the frittata. Before you proceed with the recipe be sure the skillet fits comfortably under the broiler without a great deal of maneuvering. The handle on my skillet was a bit high and made getting it in and out of the oven quite challenging. Have thick potholders at the ready so you don’t burn your fingers pulling the pan out of the oven. Once out, leave the potholder over the handle to remind yourself the pan is still hot. Use a spatula to loosen the frittata from the pan and transfer to a platter or cutting board. Of course, there are countless variations of the frittata and as the season moves on my add-ins will change. Whatever you put in yours, it’s a great quick weeknight supper to serve alongside a simple green salad.
Spinach, Sun Dried Tomato and Feta Frittata
Makes one 12″ frittata
Ingredients
- 12 large eggs
- 3 T half and half
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 4 c loosely packed spinach, large ribs and stems removed, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1/8t red pepper flakes
- 3/4c lightly crumbled feta cheese
- 1/4c coarsely chopped sun dried tomatoes
Directions
- Adjust oven rack to upper middle position, about 5 inches away from the heating element. Heat broiler.
- Whisk eggs, half and half, ½t salt and ¼t freshly ground pepper in a medium bowl until well combined, about 30 seconds. Set eggs aside.
- Heat oil in a 12-inch non stick skillet over medium heat until shimmering; add spinach and cook until it wilts, about 1 minute. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir crumbled Feta and sun dried tomatoes into eggs; add egg mixture to skillet and cook, using spatula to stir and scrape bottom of skillet, until large curds form and spatula begins to leave wake but eggs are still very wet, about 2 minutes. Shake skillet to distribute eggs evenly, cook without stirring for 30 seconds to allow the bottom to set.
- Slide skillet under broiler and broil until frittata has risen and surface is puffed and spotty brown, 3 to 4 minutes; when cut into with a paring knife the eggs should still be slightly wet. Remove skillet from oven and let stand 5 minutes to finish cooking; using spatula, loosen frittata from skillet and slide onto platter or cutting board. Cut into wedges and serve.
