Are you frantic, frazzled, and fearful of the new frenetic back-to-school schedule? Are you as shocked as I am at the fast-pace at which fall is running towards us while summer seems to just be drifting away? In the midst of all the chaos, fast and flavorful dinners that multi-task as breakfast or lunch are key to surviving the madness. That’s exactly the role a frittata can play. But somehow, I frequently forget about this kissing cousin to a quiche.
What is a Frittata?
After a bit of research, it seems that frittatas are the Italian version of an omelet. Essentially, you prepare a mixture of eggs with vegetables, cream, and cheese, pour it in an oven-proof skillet and bake it. Couldn’t be any easier. The end result is similar to the egg part of a quiche, but less creamy and a bit more eggy. What you add for flavor is flexible – it’s a great dish to make when you need to clean out your veggie or cheese drawer.
A Frittata Sandwich
I started cooking frittatas about a year ago when I purchased the ‘wichcraft cookbook by Tom Colicchio who owns a restaurant chain of the same name that sells off-the-charts fantastic sandwiches. One that caught my eye was an onion frittata with roasted tomato and cheddar.
My version of the ‘wichcraft’ frittata sandwich
They list it under breakfast sandwiches but I’ve made it for dinner several times. Below, I’ll give you a basic recipe for a frittata that I’ve adapted from their sandwich recipe. Be creative with this dish – it is hard to go wrong as long as the flavors work together.
The Basic Technique
In the skillet you’ll be baking the frittata in, sauté the base flavors such as the pancetta or bacon and then the onions, herbs, tomatoes.
While those items are sautéing, you prepare the egg mixture in a medium bowl.
Once the sautéed items have cooled just a bit, you add them to the egg mixture and then put it all back in the skillet and then into the oven to bake. A simple technique that you can modify easily to fit the ingredients you have available in your home. Don’t forget frittatas to help you tackle the frantic and fast-paced fall schedule!
- 10 inch skillet, oven-proof
- 1 cup diced pancetta
- 1 medium shallot
- 3 green onions
- ½ tablespoon fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano
- ½ cup sliced cherry tomatoes, regular tomatoes, or roasted tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence (optional)
- 8 large eggs
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup shredded cheddar
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees regular or convection
- Saute the pancetta in the 10 inch skillet on medium heat. When the fat is rendered and they are crispy and brown, remove from pan, put on a paper towel to drain, and wipe most of the pancetta fat out of the pan.
- While the pancetta is browning, chop the shallot, green onion, thyme, oregano, and tomato.
- Once the pancetta is removed from the skillet, add the diced green onion and shallot to the pan and sauté for a minute or two, still on medium heat.
- Add the diced tomatoes, chopped thyme, oregano, and Herbes de Provence (if using) and sauté until the tomatoes soften – another 2 minutes or so. Take off the heat.
- In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, cream, parmesan and cheddar cheese, and salt and pepper. Add the diced pancetta and onion mixture from the pan. Mix together and add back to the skillet.
- If you are not using a non-stick skillet, a little butter or olive oil in the bottom of the skillet before the eggs are added back in might be wise.
- Bake at 300 degrees regular for about 30 minutes or 300 degrees convection for 20 minutes.
- Once it is cooled slightly, remove from the pan onto a surface that you can cut on and slice as desired into pie shapes or square if making a sandwich.
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I'm Beth - a seasoned marketing professional, food blogger and full-time mom. Join me as I make cooking like Granny cool again, blending and stirring ingredients and memories alike.
I tasted this right out of Beth’s pan in her kitchen and it is OMG Yummy! Great job, Beth! Thanks.
Thanks Diane! It was awesome to have a taste-tester (and proofreader today). Are you available for hire?
sounds great and will try. Can i cut recipe in half for just the two of us? will pan say oven proof?
Im not sure I have one. What is name of pan you use?
Absolutely can cut it in half but be sure to use a smaller pan. Look at the bottom of the pan – it might say if it’s ovenproof. Also – check the handle – you can usually tell if the handle is ovenproof. If not, send me a photo of it and I’ll try to tell.
I fancy frittatas! Trying the alliterative approach and failing:) That pancetta veggie number has my name on it. Nice post, Beth.
Thanks Carol. How fortuitous for me that you follow my blog and fancy me as a friend!
It’s always handy to have these kinds of recipes on hand. Great post!
I want one of your popovers from TwD to go with it!
I saw your title over on SITS and I clicked on it BECAUSE of the awesome alliteration
Frittatas are a food that I forget about and I have no idea why! They are so good though. I’m glad you reminded me. I once made one of the Pioneer Woman’s frittatas and she used Naked Pita Chips as the base–it was so good! I’m pinning your recipe for future use as well 
Hi and welcome! I see we both have ‘f’ alliterations in common – saw this on your “about page”: fascinating, frightening, and fun. LOL. Thanks for stopping by. I bet frittatas would be easy for you to pull together in your small kitchen and something your kids would eat too! Thanks for pinning and stopping by. Pioneer Woman’s recipe sounds fun. I’ll have to go check it out.
Hello from St. Louie! This sounds delicious! It looks hardy enough to serve at dinnertime. Thanks!
Frittatas are the best! I love your frittata sandwich, too. My head is whirling as I think about school next week – I already spent this morning doing paperwork. I’m savoring these last moments of summer! Hope you are, too.
Still trying to savor the leftover sun of summer but the winds are a changing – fall is really coming our way.
This looks yummy – and I found it just when I was craving something eggy but didn’t want to have an omlette.
Dropping by from SITS
Satisfy your craving and leave you with leftovers for the next craving!
fast and it does sound flavorful! an eggsellent recipe added to a new post: fresh from the coop and garden http://yumivore.com/2012/09/16/garden-fresh/
Neat post Orly with at least a dozen eggsellent suggestions of how to raise chickens and cook eggs! Great idea Orly and thanks for including my frittata post.