From the “Proven Recipes” folder. I tweak these a little almost every time I make them; I’ll try to keep the copies here in sync, if there’s any interest – RtW
Friggin’ Frittata
Halfway between an omelet and a quiche, no crust, which makes life a lot simpler
Takes about 45 minutes for the whole thing, so best not to wait until everyone’s starving.
Serves 4, maybe 6 light eaters, or if served with fruit or other breakfast items. I just bag and refrigerate the extra slices, they’re good re-heated later.
Ingredients:
8 large or extra-large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1 yellow onion, maybe two if they’re small, or half of one if they’re huge. Seems like a lot, but it works out.
One large or a few small mild peppers, one typical big green bell pepper is fine.
Half-pound or so of spiced uncooked sausage, or a little less cooked sausage or ham.
Shredded cheese. I like about 1/3 sharp cheddar and 2/3 4-cheese Mexican mix, you may like others. It probably would be a little better with freshly-shredded cheese, but I’m not sure it’s worth the effort, we seem to be just fine with store-bought shredded in this dish, can’t taste the extra starch.
There are thousands of things you could put in this, just like an omelet, but the trick is to keep the moisture level low, no wet ingredients like tomatoes. Sauteing the veggies with salt instead of introducing it later helps to remove moisture as well.
You’ll also need a large, OVEN-SAFE pan.
There are three stages of cooking in a pan here. I sometimes use two pans for this, a big 12-inch cast iron and a smaller non-stick, or sometimes I do it all in the one cast-iron. We slice the finished frittata in the pan, which is why I wouldn’t want to use a non-stick for the last stage. No doubt there are other ways that will work fine.
Preparation:
Peel and small dice the onion.
Cut off the tops of the peppers, halve them, clean out the seeds and partitions, SMALL dice. Not necessary to mince them, but you don’t want big chunks.
If using pre-cooked sausage or ham, small dice or crumble as appropriate.
Carefully crack the eggs into a bowl, stir or whisk just enough to break the yolks, introducing as little air as possible. Pour in the milk, about 2-3 pinches of salt and 2-3 pinches of pepper, I like at least 3 pinches of nutmeg, stir or whisk to combine completely, still taking care not to froth the eggs.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, placing a rack 2/3 of the way up.
Heat 3 teaspoons of olive oil on medium-high in a medium or large pan (this is where I use a 10-inch or larger non-stick).
Place the onions in the pan and lightly salt immediately. Cook the onions for maybe 2 to 3 minutes until starting to get translucent, then add the peppers, cook for another 5 minutes or so until tender. Carefully salt (if still necessary) and pepper to taste. Set aside in a bowl, draining any excess liquid.
Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium high in the same pan.
If using uncooked sausage, brown thoroughly in the pan, salt and pepper to taste. If using pre-cooked sausage or ham brown just enough to bring out the flavor, a minute or two. Set aside on a paper-towel lined plate to drain.
In a large oven-safe frying pan, preferably cast iron, heat 3 teaspoons of olive oil to MEDIUM heat. Pour in half the egg mixture, let thicken for perhaps 2 minutes.
Pour in the onion, pepper and sausage, spread evenly. Pour the remaining egg mixture on top. Cook on the high end of MEDIUM-LOW, maybe LOW heat without stirring for perhaps 5 minutes, until the mixture starts to solidify all the way around the edges, and maybe pull away from the pan a little. This is the tricky part, and you have to watch it to keep it from burning. If steam starts to jet from underneath, knock the heat down a few notches immediately.
Move the pan directly into the pre-heated oven. Cook for 10-20 minutes or so, BUT check early and often, until top is solidified or almost solidified. Remove from oven, cover the top with a layer of the grated cheese, return to oven for another 5-7 minutes or until cheese is not just melted but lightly browned, changed in shape and texture from when it was liquid. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 5 minutes, slice and serve.
– Robert the Wombat