Small Town Summer: Vegetable Frittata

A frittata is what I like to refer to as an "easy comfort meal" or in college land "a fancy-to-impress meal." Because let’s be honest, breakfast for dinner is a college classic.

I have always been the "non-college student." I actually get dressed for class and go to bed before midnight. Maybe that's why I like the name "College Cuisiner," it's contradictory, much like me. I will easily spend an hour on a meal with top notch ingredients and then only buy my clothes on sale in a rush.

Isn't funny how you can spend money on one thing with little thought and then obsess over every little penny over another? Eh, for me a moment on my lips is a lot more important than what I wear on my hips. But that's college, unbalanced priorities all the way.

And that’s where my frittata comes in. A frittata is definitely an attractive meal that is delicious, but honestly, it is not that difficult. Especially since you can usually make one with only one bowl and one pan.

This is often referred to as an Italian omelet that you don’t flip.

If you have ever seen the movie, Morning Glory with Harrison Ford and Rachel McAdams, like me, you are now picturing the scene where Harrison Ford makes a Frittata. I always think of this movie when I make a frittata. Apparentley I am not the only one as I found three blogs that posted about the subject while unsuccessfully trying to locate the movie clip.

His character makes a good point; a frittata is a great way to use left over vegetables or anything you might have in your fridge. Great idea Harrison Ford!

So for dinner, our plan was to use the leftover grilled vegetables and potatoes from the night before in our frittata. Great idea right?

Well, we couldn’t find the vegetables, but we still wanted to make a frittata.

So we used onions, zucchini, tomatoes, and potatoes.

And my secret ingredient for savory egg dishes…..beer.

Okay you might be saying, really? Beer?

Background: I learned this trick from another movie that we watched with my sister’s French ex-boyfriend. It was Le Dîner de Cons, the French movie that was remade into Dinner for Schmucks. In the movie, one of the characters makes scrambled eggs with a splash of beer. And boy, does it make a difference in eggs: fluffy and savory.

For the College Student: you can make this dish no problem with eggs, pre-shredded cheese, definitely beer, and frozen hash browns instead of fresh potatoes. But be warned, fresh is always better.

Vegetable Frittata

Ingredients:

7 eggs

Splash of beer (preferably lager)

1 medium onion, chopped

4 medium-large potatoes shredded

Tip: you can cut the cooking time by microwaving or boiling the potatoes first until they are soft.

1 zucchini, cut into thin slices

2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

Fresh basil (if you have it)

Salt, Pepper

1 cup grated parmesan

½ cup of mozzarella (if you have it to make the dish a little cheesier)

3 tblsp. butter

olive oil

2-3 tomatoes, sliced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Heat up a large iron skillet over medium heat with olive oil.

Add chopped onions and garlic and begin to brown.

Add shredded potatoes and mix with onions. Add more olive oil and 2 tblsp. of butter

This will take awhile if you are using raw potatoes. You may need to add water occasionally so the potatoes cook evenly and do not burn.

While potatoes are still cooking, add zucchini to the mixture and allow them to soften and brown. Add the last tablespoon of butter to the mixture.

Meanwhile, beat 7 eggs in a bowl, add a splash of beer and fresh ground pepper.

I added a little basil to make the mixture prettier.

Once the potato mixture is cooked thoroughly, evenly mix in beaten eggs.

Allow eggs to cook and brown on the sides. With a spatula move sides of egg mixture in toward the center of the skillet to allow more of the eggs to cook. (similar to making an omelet)

Add salt and pepper. Top with tomato slices, basil, and grated cheese. The mixture will still be runny and shiny.

Take the skillet and put into the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes to allow eggs to finish cooking and the cheese to melt. Take out when frittata is no longer runny and is settled.

Take out of the oven and allow the frittata to cool. Cut the frittata into slices like a pie, serve in the skillet and serve slices with a pie spatula.

Variations:

• Add any other cooked veggies you might have
• Serve with toast or a side salad
• Add fresh oregano
• Serve with grilled bacon and potato cakes (like we did)

Voila! A college student or anyone’s way to make an easy yet impressive meal for dinner, breakfast, or brunch.

Enjoy!

Love,

The College Cuisiner

Disclaimer: I realize I labeled this as meatless and then showed it next to bacon. I swear, I did not eat the bacon niether did the bacon contaminate the frittata is any way.