Believe it or not, it wasn’t until earlier this year when I had a frittata for the first time. It was something I’d seen in cookbooks, cooking magazines, and cooking shows; most often billed as a great brunch food. But for whatever reason I hadn’t ever tried one. Then we went out for breakfast at a new restaurant in Ely and they served individual portioned frittatas. It reminded me of an omelet except with a little caramelization on the ingredients on the bottom. Later, when we got back home and I was going through recipes I had saved for breakfast, I decided to try this Zucchini and Red Pepper Frittata from the July 2014 issue of Cooking Light.
Please don’t judge me because it took me two years to try a recipe I have saved. It just occurred to me the other day that I will probably never get around to trying all the recipes on my Pinterest boards, let alone from cooking magazines and cookbooks. That won’t stop me from continuing to expand all those collections because it’s good for inspiration.
There are very few recipes that I am willing to leave completely alone and this wasn’t one of them. You see that frittata that I’d tried in the restaurant had caramelized onion in it and it was one of my favorite flavors so I had to add some fried onion to this frittata too. Red onion is what I had at home so that’s what I used, plus with the green from the zucchini and red from the peppers it was a more colorful addition than plain yellow onion.
Here’s what you need:
Start by roasting a red bell pepper directly over the flame of your stove. Turn as each side blackens – about 2-3 minutes per side. When the pepper is blackened put it into a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Allow it to steam for about 15 minutes to loosen the skin.
If you don’t have a gas range, you can also cut the pepper in half (seed it) and place under the broiler for about 8 minutes or so.
Peel the pepper and slice into thin strips. You could use jarred red peppers that you slice if you want, just make sure to pat them dry.
While the pepper is steaming thinly slice a zucchini and enough red pepper to make about a third of a cup.
Prepare your egg mixture by beating together 4 large eggs, some milk, salt and pepper. Then stir in some shredded white cheddar cheese.
Now it’s time to start cooking. We’re going to get all our veggies ready first before adding the egg mixture.
Add a little bit of olive oil to a 9 inch pan and heat over medium-high heat. Make sure the pan is oven proof because the frittata is going to finish in the oven.
Add the onions and cook for 3-4 minutes until it begins to brown (I was going for starting to caramelize but not caramelized. Add the zucchini and cook for about 6 minutes. Then add the red pepper.
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the egg mixture to the veggie mixture.
Cook for about 2 minutes until the edges begin to set.
Transfer to a 350 degree oven and bake 16 minutes until the center is set. It will also be slightly puffed when you remove it from the oven.
Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
According to Cooking Light this serves 6, which if you’re having brunch and serving other things alongside probably makes sense. But I’m used to having 2 eggs for breakfast, so I ended up eating 2 slices and make no apologies for it.
This can serve 2-6 depending on if it’s your main entrée or part of a larger brunch spread. It also makes a good light dinner if you’re into the breakfast for dinner trend.
- 1 red bell pepper
- Olive oil
- ⅓ c thinly sliced red onion
- 1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
- 4 eggs
- ¾ c 2% milk
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 c shredded white cheddar
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook bell pepper directly over the flame on a gas range until blackened all the way around, about 2-3 minutes per side. Place pepper in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the pepper steam for about 10-15 minutes. Peel the skin off the pepper and slice into strips. (You can also use the broiler to blacken the pepper if you don’t have a gas range).
- Heat olive oil in a 9 inch oven safe skillet over medium-high heat.
- Cook the red onion for 3-4 minutes until the edges begin to brown. Add the zucchini and cook for about 6 minutes. Add the red peppers and reduce heat to medium.
- While the zucchini is cooking, beat together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Stir in the cheese. Once you turn the heat down, pour egg mixture over the veggie mixture in the pan.
- Cook for 2 minutes until the edges begin to set.
- Transfer to the oven and bake for about 16 minutes until the center is set.
- Let sit for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
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