An egg-based dish containing fried ham, spinach, grape tomatoes, and grated Pecorino Romano.
Apologies for being away for so long! My local H-E-B was having a hard time keeping up with the demand and then I was sick for a few weeks. I’m back now and I am bringing you an easy dish that is excellent for the Spring. Frittata is a simple Italian egg dish that, in plain terms, is sort of like a baked omelet in the shape of a pie. How’s that for a description? 😛 It’s great for breakfast or a late morning brunch and the beauty of it is its versatility in that you can switch out any filling ingredient with any meat or vegetable you have on hand.
For instance, if you do not have or like spinach, feel free to leave them out or replace them with another green. Kale? Chives? The frittata is your oyster. Other great additions (or replacements!) could be some nice cheeses (goat cheese, feta, cheddar), other sources of protein (prosciutto, bacon, sausage), different veggie combos (asparagus, mushrooms, roasted peppers).
Now, the assumption may be that you just whisk all this stuff together and throw it in the oven but I believe it is imperative that you cook your add-ins before adding them with the egg. Not only will it give a better flavor if you fry up your veggies but will also yield much better texture. After all, who would want to bite into an undercooked mushroom for instance? Also, any raw meats you add must be cooked beforehand!
- About 6 slices of black forest ham
- 1 cup loosely packed spinach leaves, sliced into ribbons
- ½ cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half
- ¼ cup grated Pecorino Romano
- 7 large eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp fresh cracked pepper
- butter for greasing and olive oil for sauteing
- Preheat your oven to 400F and set your rack to the center position.
- Grease a pie dish with a pat of butter, taking care to get up the sides as well, and set aside
- In a frying pan, saute the slices of ham in a bit of olive oil over medium to medium-high heat just until the slices get some color. Remove from the pan and then cut the ham slices into bite-sized pieces and set them aside.
- To the frying pan, add the sliced spinach and cook just until wilted and bright green. Add oil as necessary. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Now add the grape tomatoes, cut side down. Cook for about 30 seconds just to get some of the juice evaporated. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Whisk together the egg, milk, salt, and pepper. Do not over whisk, you just need the egg and milk combined. Over-whisking will result in a dense frittata.
- Add the ham, spinach, tomato, and grated Pecorino Romano to the egg and just stir to combine.
- Pour the egg mixture into the prepared pie dish and then carefully
- Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until edges are puffed and the center jiggles just slightly.
- Remove promptly and set on a cooling rack. Slice and serve.
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