Zucchini Frittata

We had our first rainy fall day last week. I think I had something like pasta salad on the menu for dinner, which didn’t really strike me as a great dinner for a cold, rainy day. So I scrapped those dinner plans and instead cooked up this tasty frittata and some yummy tomato soup. Today I’ll give you frittata and then you can come back on Sunday for the soup.

I did change the method of this recipe a little bit, because, like I’ve said before, I just don’t like things that are needlessly fussy. Sally has you transferring things from bowl to pan to bowl and back again. I like my way better. It’s much simpler. The method below is the method I used. I’m sure Sally’s method works too. I just think it’s more complicated.

This dish earned all three stars. Everyone at the dinner table ate their firsts and had seconds. The withheld thumb is my own since my food allergies don’t allow me to eat dairy.

Zucchini Frittata Nourishing Traditions, page 442

• 3 medium zucchini julienned
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 6 eggs
• ¹⁄₃ cup piima cream or creme fraiche (p 84)
• 1 tsp organic lemon rind finely grated
• pinch dried oregano
• pinch dried rosemary
• sea salt and pepper
• 1 cup monterey jack cheese grated

1. Using the julienne slicer of a food processor, cut 3 medium zucchini. Salt and drain in a colander for 1/2 hour. Rinse and squeeze dry with a paper towel.

My food processor doesn’t have a julienne blade, so I used my coarse shredding blade. The recipe worked just fine. Perhaps better, because the smaller pieces meant that no one at the table suspected they were biting into (yet another) zucchini. I did choose to salt and drain the shreds. The smaller pieces meant that I would be more likely to actually draw out some water with this method. And I know what happens to frittata when your vegetables have too much water in them. It’s not pretty. So while in past posts I know I’ve snubbed the salting and draining step, here I think it’s warranted. Don’t skip it if possible.

2. Preheat your broiler. Beat eggs with cream and seasonings.

I had just enough piima cream left over from the stuffed zucchini for this recipe. And those eggs came from a neighbors chickens. I felt like a bona fide Nourishing Traditions foodie at this moment! If you don’t have piima cream and don’t feel up to making it, you could use sour cream or a high quality whipping cream. I think either of these would also give nice results.

3. Melt the butter and olive oil in the pan. Saute the zucchini for a few minutes until just softened. Spread out the zucchini evenly in the pan and pour in the egg mixture. Cook over medium heat about 5 minutes, until the underside is golden and the edges are starting to set.

You’ll need to use a heavy-bottomed pan that can go from stove-top to oven for this recipe. I like to use my cast iron skillet for frittatas. It’s well-seasoned because I use it all the time so I never have problems with food sticking to it. You may need to tilt the pan a little bit in order to evenly distribute the eggs.

3. Sprinkle cheese on top and place under the broiler for a few minutes until the frittata puffs and browns. Let cool thoroughly. Cut into wedges and serve.

If your frittata is getting too brown and it’s still not set, just lower the temperature in your oven and stick it in the main oven for about 5 minutes. Remember, it will also cook a little bit more as it’s sitting there out of the oven cooling. Be sure to let it cool thoroughly before trying to slice it. When I serve frittata I like to make it early in the day so that it can cool in time for dinner. Then I slice it and return it to the oven for a quick warm-up before serving it. If you try to cut it while it’s still hot it will make a huge mess and you will end up with something more like a scrambled hash.

You can bet this one will be returning to our dinner table this fall. I think we’ll try swapping out the veggies and seeing what other combinations we can come up with.