Golden goodness - Frittata

Eggs are a favorite breakfast food in my family. So after the bhurji, egg rolls, omelet and egg toasts have all been made, eaten and pronounced boooring, I A frittata, that's what.

Frittatas are baked Italian omelets, that unlike their Indian counterparts aren't restricted to onions and chillies. This makes them the perfect brunch food in my opinion, the vegetables and cheese sustain you till the invariably late weekend lunch, and the herbs are a welcome change from Indian spices.

Most of the recipes I came across called for a lot of cream or extra egg yolks in order to help the frittata set well. So I came up with my own version after a couple of hits and misses. I think it works just fine (with the added flavor of a guilt free meal :-)).

My favorite combination is bell peppers and mushrooms; you can try using other vegetables (zucchini, broccoli, corn) and cheese (cheddar, monterey etc.) as well.

FRITTATA (Italian style omelet)
(serves 3-4)
4 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 green bell pepper
6-8 mushrooms
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp fresh basil
1 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley
5 tbsp goat cheese or shredded parmesan
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
olive oil

Pre heat oven to 400°F. Wash, core and cube the peppers. Clean and slice mushrooms. Peel and coarsely chop the garlic. Whisk eggs in a mixing bowl with salt, pepper and milk.

Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add garlic and saute for a minute. Add mushrooms and saute on medium high heat until their moisture dries up. Next add peppers and saute for 1-2 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper. Add herbs and mix well. If you have an oven proof skillet, add eggs right into the vegetable mixture, cook on stove top till they firm up, then pop the skillet into the oven.
If not, spoon the vegetables into an 8" round cake pan. Pour the egg mixture on top, then bake at 400°F for 12-15 minutes, or until the top is golden.

Slice and serve the frittata with a good, crusty bread.

Entry for - Weekend Breakfast Blogging at Saffron Trail