Spinach Frittata

I may be on vacation, but I still managed to find time to develop a new recipe. After a long day of travel and some exploration in New Orleans, my aunt and I headed to her house in Lafayette, which is about a two hour drive. When we got to the house, we were hungry and tired but not sure what to do for dinner.

I asked what vegetables she had at the house and found out there was frozen spinach, onions, and scallions (among others). I said we could make a frittata. My aunt had never made one before and asked if I would teach her. I eagerly took an opportunity to cook in my aunt’s gorgeous kitchen. I would love to have a large kitchen like this with so much space and wonderful equipment.

I made myself right at home in this kitchen and started cooking the frittata. I was just flying by the seat of my pants, as I don’t think I’ve really made a proper frittata myself. That is just not something I think to make for one person, but I felt confident I could make it happen. In the spirit of Louisiana, I added Cajun seasoning to the the eggs along with salt and pepper. The only cheese they really had in the house was sliced pepper jack, which I would not normally not put in an egg dish like this, but I felt it would go well with the Cajun spices.

I made the executive decision to not turn on the oven to finish cooking the frittata. It felt like too much effort. Instead, I carefully flipped it once and let it finish cooking on the top for about a minute and then sprinkled some scallions on top. It was mostly set at this point, but the top of the frittata was still raw. This was the best way I could think to finish cooking the frittata without burning the bottom.

I managed to please my hosts with this vegetable frittata, even my uncle who is a big meat-eater.  The eggs were light and fluffy, and fortunately, I did not break the frittata while flipping it.  I was quite pleased with our makeshift dinner.  It was such a reminder how you can almost always whip together a meal with what you have in your fridge/pantry.

Spinach Frittata Recipe

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs
• splash of whole milk
• one cup frozen spinach (not thawed)
• one small yellow or white onion (or half a medium onion) thinly sliced
• a few whole scallions sliced (separating the whites/light greens from the dark greens)
• cheese of your choice (preferring grated, but at the very least sliced into chunks)
• salt and pepper
• any additional seasoning of your choice (Cajun, Italian, Greek or just oregano/parsley…anything you want!)

1. If you want to finish cooking your frittata in the oven, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. If not, skip this step.
2. Heat some olive oil in a 10 inch frying pan over medium heat (using an oven safe pan if you are using the oven method). Once hot, add the sliced onions and cook until translucent, about five minutes.
3. While the onions are cooking, add your frozen spinach to a separate pan and cook until thawed and warm. If you need to turn off the heat on the onions while you finish the next step, that is fine. You don’t want to over caramelize the onions.
4. Once the spinach is ready, remove from heat and drain in a colander (with small holes). Press as much water out of the spinach as possible until you have a lump of mostly dry spinach.
5. Add the scallion whites/light greens to the pan with the onions and cook for a 1-2 minutes (allowing the pan to re-heat first if you turned it off.)
6. Then, add your spinach to the pan and cook for another minute while you get your eggs ready.
7. In a mixing bowl or large measuring cup, crack your eggs and add a splash of whole milk (any dairy would work though). Whisk the milk and eggs until homogenized. Season your eggs to your desire starting with salt and pepper, and then adding whatever other spices you want.
8. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables and sprinkle some cheese over top. Regardless of your cooking method, allow the frittata to sit over the heat for about a minute.
9. If you decide to use the stovetop method, turn the heat down to low and cover your pan to help steam the frittata. After you have been cooking for about 10 minutes, it should be rather set, but the top of the frittata may still be raw. If the bottom is starting to brown too much, very carefully flip the frittata and allow it to finish cooking for about a minute.
10. If you decide to use the oven method, transfer your frying pan to the oven for 7 to 14 minutes (checking on it) until the eggs get puffy and appear set and cooked. Remove from the oven to cool for a minute before serving.
11. To serve, garnish with scallions and slice into pieces.

This may be a simple recipe, but I enjoyed allowing my creative juices to flow while on my trip.