The Best Breakfast Dish

Frittats are my favorite thing to serve for a group brunch.  I’m never satisfied with a weekend breakfast that doesn’t include eggs, but they’re not exactly easy to prepare for a group. I mean, what would Ina say if you stood there and made individual omelets?  A frittata makes things simple, allows for endless combinations of fillings, and is great at room temperature, so you can make it in advance.

I toss all my ingredients in a pie dish and just bake it, skipping the stovetop step- so this is a good recipe if you don’t own an oven-safe pan.  I like the nine inch white pie dish from Wilton, which is under $10.

My favorite frittata is the potato, bacon, and feta frittata from the Smitten Kitchen cookbook. I roast the potatoes the night before so I can assemble everything quickly in the morning. Sometimes, I also add fresh arugula.

 

Potato, Bacon, Feta Frittata, from Smitten Kitchen by Deb Perelman
Serves 6 as part of a brunch buffet, 4 if serving alone
 

5 large Yukon Gold potatoes

2/3 cup crumbled feta

8 large eggs

2 scallions, sliced

5 strips bacon , crumbled (I actually use the precooked kind that you can just microwave)

2 tbsp milk or cream

3 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400.
 

Peel potatoes and slice very thinly on a mandolin. Arrange in a single layer (fine if a few overlap) on a baking sheet, and coat with olive oil, and a generous amount of salt and pepper.  Roast for 30 mins, until crispy around edges.  You can do this step the night before, or boil the slices for 7 minutes if you are pressed for time.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, and a little more salt and pepper.

Spray a 9 inch pie dish evenly with nonstick spray, and arrange the potatoes in the bottom.  Top with the bacon, then feta, then scallions, and pour egg mixture over. 

Cover dish with foil, and bake for 20 minutes. Then, remove foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes, until puffed and set in center. Sometimes, I will also carefully broil it for just a minute or so to give it a nice golden look. Be careful- don't overdo that!

**If you want to make this (or any frittata) for a larger group, up to 12 as part of a brunch buffet, use 12 eggs and plan to bake it for 55 minutes at 375.  You’ll need a bigger pie dish- I use a 12" from Emile Henry.  

Shakshuka

Shakshuka. Fun to say.  Although if you tell people you’re making it for them, you might be met with some blank stares. 

 

Shakshuka is a Middle Eastern dish of eggs baked in a tomato sauce. It’s very easy to execute, fairly hands off, and makes a delicious, and slightly unusual, brunch dish.  I used a Food and Wine recipe that adds an Italian spin to the dish.

 

Shakshuka with Swiss Chard, adapted from Food and Wine

Serves 2, but doubles easily to serve 4

 

2 cups prepared tomato sauce (I always have homemade sauce in the freezer)

1 bunch Swiss chard

1 package baby bella or white button mushrooms

1/3 cup diced pieces of fresh mozzarella

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp chopped kalamata olives

2 tbsp Parmesan cheese

4 large eggs

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

 

Preheat oven to 350. 

 

Clean your mushrooms by rubbing them with a paper towel. Remove stems, and cut in quarters. 

 

Remove Swiss chard leaves from stalks, clean, and chop. Reserve stalks for another use, or mince to include in recipe (I left them out, I don’t love the stalks).

 

In a large, oven-safe skillet*, sauté mushrooms in olive oil until softened and browned, about 10 minutes. Add in Swiss chard and sauté till wilted.  Pour in your tomato sauce. 

 

Using a ladle, make four indentations in the piles of chard and sauce. Crack each of the four eggs into each indentation. 

 

Scatter mozzarella cubes and olives around eggs. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and top with Parmesan. Bake for 15 minutes, until whites are set and yolks are runny. Just a heads up, baked eggs, always look really underdone, no matter how long  you bake them for.  

 

Let stand five minutes, then serve with toast. 

 

 

*If you don’ t have an oven safe skillet, you can always spray a baking dish or pie plate with nonstick spray, then pour  your sautéed vegetables and sauce into it and continue with the recipe as directed.  That’s what I did here.

The Perfect Omelette

I've often heard it said the test of a good chef is their ability to cook an omelette. It seems like the simplest thing, but so often, they're awful- burnt on the outside, or too thick, or runny and raw in the middle.

After lots of trying, and some tips from Cooking Light magazine, I've been able to make my perfect omelette. I like to use an larger nonstick pan, so that the egg spreads out and creates a thin, crepe-like omelette, that folds over a few times, rather than a thicker one that's simply folded in half.

Start with two eggs, beaten with a splash of cream or milk, plus some salt and pepper:

Gather your fillings. Here, I went a bit healthy on you- shredded cheddar, parsley, Tuscan kale, and yellow cherry tomatoes.

Spray your pan with nonstick spray (or use butter, whatever you like), turn the heat onto medium low, and pour in your beaten egg mixture.

Let the eggs set.  Be patient, and use low heat. Too high heat can toughen the protein in eggs, or burn them. As the eggs set, you can use a spatula to lift the edges and pour some of the runny egg underneath to help it set more.

When the eggs are mostly dry, place your fillings on top of the egg, in the center.

Using your spatula, carefully fold 1/3 of the omelette over, then fold over again, and then again.

Serve and enjoy! I like mine on a piece of toast: