Spinach Frittata Recipe

For my readers who wants to know What is a Frittata, a one liner for them. Frittata is a Bulk Omelette. But unlike an omelette which is made separately for every member in the family, a frittata is made by slow cooking all the eggs together and slicing the resulting Frittata to the family. Got it? Yes, just like how you would slice a pizza . You can mix-and-match any of your favorite veggies or cooked meat into the frittata. Yes, just like how you would do a mix-and-match for your garments .

EGGS and SPINACH are the husband’s favorites. He likes spinach so much that he toggles his facebook profile pictures only with Popeye’s images . In a way I too like eggs. It’s because eggs are the “Aabath Paandavan” in my kitchen. They come to rescue when my sleepy head snoozes the morning alarm for too long. By the time the husband gets down from his morning shower and gets ready, the breakfast will get ready too: Accompanying the bowl of cereal, Bingo! comes the omelet or Bingo! comes the boiled eggs or Bingo… comes the scrambled eggs, else Bingo! comes the poached eggs orrrr….. BINGOooo!! Comes the Frittata slices.

I call the eggs as Aabath Paandavs, also because they help me prepare a main dish gravy when I see no vegetables in the refrigerator. With the ladle as the magic wand, the masala powders as the fairy dust, and you being the magician, you can perform magic in your kitchen. Say Ta-da… Egg Qorma gets ready, Say Ta-da… Poached Egg Gravy (Muttai Kuzhambu) gets ready, Say Ta-da! Fried Egg Gravy (Poricha Muttai Kulambu) gets ready, Say Ta-da, Egg Fried Rice or a simple Egg Maggie gets cooked, Say Tada… Egg Biryani gets done too!!! So many versatile recipes with eggs. Be it for breakfast or a lunch main course or a lunch accompaniment or simply because you’re hungry after mid-night, you can rely on eggs as long as you have them stocked in your refrigerator. For now, let me use the eggs to show you how to make Spinach Frittata.

How to make Frittata – with Step by Step pictures [Each image can be enlarged if CLICKED]

Step 1. Peel, wash and chop the onion roughly. Wash and chop the green chilies [Note: I removed most of the seeds from the chili. If you want more spice you may not remove the seeds]. Wash spinach and drain. Crack the eggs. Set the other ingredients ready on the kitchen table.

Step 2. Roughly chop the spinach. Set aside.

Step 3. Whisk the eggs lightly. Add turmeric powder, pepper, 2 tbsp. of cheese and salt. Beat the eggs. Set it aside.

Step 4. Preheat the oven. Set it to BROIL.

Step 5. Heat an oven-proof non-stick skillet over MEDIUM heat. [Use a cast iron skillet (broiler proof) or a non-stick coated broiler proof skillet (Many non-stick oven proof skillet can only manage temperatures up to 400 or 500 degree F. So take care). You may check this cute little lovely cast iron skillet. Suits best when cooking for 1. Or if you are looking a little bigger skillet for the family, you may check the skillet in this link. Please scroll down to 3Ts section if you do not have a cast iron or broiler proof skillet.]

Step 6. Add the onions and sauté for 2 minutes.

Step 7. Add the green chilies. Sauté them for a minute.

Step 8. Now add the chopped spinach. Spinach wilts very quickly. So sauté the spinach just for a minute. Now reduce the flame to MEDIUM-LOW. Then add the beaten eggs.

Step 9. Remember that we’re not making scrambled eggs. So keep the stirring lightly once you add the eggs. Just mix such that the eggs, onions and spinach blend together. [Or you may sauté the veggies and mix them into the egg bowl. Then pour this egg mixture on the heated pan]

Step 10. Close the pan and let it cook for about 5 minutes.

Step 11. After 5 minutes remove the lid. The eggs will have almost set around the corner of the pan. It will still be runny in the center of the pan.

Step 12. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tbsp. of cheese over the egg. Switch off the stove since we’re now going to transfer the frittata to the oven.

Step 13. Open the oven and place the oven-proof non-stick skillet carefully. Close the oven. Let the frittata broil just until the runny eggs in the center of the pan firms. Takes only 2 to 3 minutes.

Step 14. Once the eggs set in the center, you’re ready to go. Take out the frittata from the oven. Switch off oven.

Step 15. Use a flat ladle to run around the skillet in order to loosen the frittata. Slice it. Serve it hot for the hungry birds in your dining table. I bet they’ll enjoy!

3Ts [ Tips | Tricks | Tactics and Secrets ] to make Frittata

1. Some times I like to have the frittata dense (like the one which I showed in this post). But some times by mood fluctuates and asks for a light and fluffy frittata. If you wanted to make your frittata fluffy, follow this simple secret. First separate the egg whites and the yolks. Beat the egg whites until they show soft peaks. Mix half of the beaten egg whites with the yolk. Then add the remaining egg whites and mix together. Add salt, pepper, cheese, turmeric powder, sautéed veggies. Follow the rest of the steps in making the Frittata.

2. You may add your favorite vegetables to the frittata if you are not a Spinach person. Say, red bell peppers or yellow or green, say fried potatoes, say leeks, say carrots or cabbage, say pepperoni, say tomatoes, say mushrooms, say combination of your favorites!

3. Turmeric powder is optional but we use it for all fried egg recipes since it gives a lovely yellow color and hides the raw smell of the eggs.

4. Use a cast iron skillet (broiler proof) or a non-stick coated broiler proof skillet (Many non-stick oven proof skillet can only manage temperatures up to 400 or 500 degree F. So take care). You may check this cute little lovely cast iron skillet. Suits best when cooking for 1. Or if you are looking a little bigger skillet for the family, you may check the skillet in this link.

5. Not owning a broiler proof skillet is not going to stop you from trying out this Frittata recipe. You may still make frittata with whatever skillet you own. My non-stick pan is not broiler proof. So I just pre-heated the oven and switched it off JUST BEFORE I put the Frittata into the oven (Step 13. Since the oven is switched off, may take few more minutes for the eggs to set.) But if you need a nice, bubbly, light and fluffy browned Frittata you WILL need broiling temperatures for which you SHOULD use a broiler proof skillet.

PREP TIME: 5 min
COOK TIME: 7 min
TOTAL TIME: 12 min
YIELD: 2
DIFFICULTY: easy
RECIPE TYPE: Breakfast

Ingredients:

4 – Eggs
1 ½ cup – Spinach (I used pre-washed baby spinach – chopped roughly)
¼ cup – Parmesan Cheese (grated)
1/3 cup – Onion (chopped)
2 – Green chili
¼ tsp – Turmeric powder (optional)
1 tsp – Salt
½ tsp – Pepper
1¼ tbsp – Oil (I used extra virgin olive oil)

Mangala from Cooking.Jingalala.Org Eat Well !