Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet and Eggs

Today’s task in 31 Days to a Better Diet is about one of my favourite meals to cook when I’m busy.

In a busy life it’s really handy to have a couple of easy, flexible dishes up your sleeve. The kind of dishes you can make at the end of a long day, with what’s in the house.

If you are confident you can make something tasty in 20 minutes, with limited effort, you’re less likely to reach for the take-away menus. Or have toast and vegemite for dinner. They’re a healthier choice.

Knowing how to make one or two fall-back dishes make it easier to cook for yourself and eat well.

The top of my list for this kind of cooking, is a frittata.

Why a frittata?

Frittatas are my number one choice for easy, flexibile dishes because:

• I can cook the whole meal in one pan – which reduces washing up
• We almost always have eggs and some kind of vegetable, fresh or frozen, in the house
• I don’t have to follow an explicit recipe, but can tweak it to suit my mood and what’s in the house
• They’re delicious and really satisfying
• I can cook one in 20 minutes
• The final meal includes a good dose of vegetables

How to cook a frittata

This is the basic method and formula I use for making a frittata. More and more I make it as a one-pot meals – so my frittatas are heavy on the vegetables.

I tend to use quick cooking, or frozen vegetables, as I want my frittata to be ready in 20 minutes. I also don’t want to use any other pans, or do fussy, complicated cooking. Ideally my frittata would include two or three of the following: onion, spinach, zucchini, tomato, peas, herbs, mushrooms or a frozen vegetable mixture.

I like a bit of cheese in my frittata as well and again I use what we’ve got. While my favourite is fetta, I’ve also used ricotta, cottage cheese, mozzarella and tasty / cheddar.

For two people I would use:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cups of vegetables – see note above
• 5 eggs
• about 50g cheese, grated or crumbled

Preheat the grill to it’s highest setting.

Prepare the vegetables: What you do with the veg, depends on what you’re using. I slice onions into thin half moons, but spinach and fresh herbs are just washed and torn up. While I cut zucchini, tomato and mushroom into thin slices, and leave frozen vegetables as they are.

Cook the vegetables: Put a non-stick frypan over a medium heat. Once it’s warmed up add the olive oil. Start adding and sauteeing the vegetables, in the following order (depending on what you’re using): onions, zucchini, peas, frozen vegetables, spinach, mushrooms, herbs (not the tomatoes). Add each to the pan, moving it around using a wooden spoon – so the vegetables cook evenly without burning or sticking. This should take 4 – 5 minutes.

Add the eggs: Lightly beat the eggs and season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat under the frying pan up to high. Pour in the eggs and cook on high for 1 minute. If using tomato, place slices on top of the egg mixture at this point. Turn the heat down to medium and continue cooking for 5 – 6 minutes, until the egg is nearly set.

Finish the frittata: Sprinkle the cheese on top and place under the hot grill. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes, until the frittata is set and the top is golden. Serve immediately.

Other thoughts

As with any dish, to become confident cooking a frittata you need to practice. The more you try them out the more likely it is you’ll feel comfortable and willing to make one when you get home late. Experimenting also means you can try out different flavours and work out the best frittata for you.

If you’re not an egg person, don’t worry as many other dishes fit into this category of easy, flexible foods. Instead of making a frittata you might want to spend some time thinking about another easy, flexible dish that could become your back-up meal.

For other frittata ideas take a look at taste.com.au, Simply Recipes, Kalyn’s Kitchen, Food Stories or cuisine.com.au.

Tonight, get practising and make a frittata for dinner

List photograph by Hannah Boettcher.

15 August, 2008