Frittata

What makes this frittata different is the bread. It soaks up the egg and cream and gives the frittata a firm but still tender texture. It also makes it easier to slide onto a serving plate, if that’s how you want to serve it.

Frittata is a dish I have eaten and served for my entire life. It was always there just in case we were hungry or if an unexpected guest dropped by. It’s made with fresh eggs and whole vegetables, nothing unhealthy. I never thought of it as unhealthy or fattening. But at 20 grams of fat per portion, it’s not entirely benign. This dish was a little easier than most to make healthier because it starts out in a good place—but why not have fewer calories without sacrificing flavor?

Quiche—hold the crust and the work!

Also good for B, L, or D.

This meal is another B, L, D: good for Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner.

This substantial omelet can be served as a main dish accompanied by salad.

The traditional Iranian New Year’s Day specialty is made with a number of green herbs and leaves. Its greenness is a symbol of fruitfulness in the coming year, bringing prosperity and happiness. Any favored herbs, such as flat-leaf parsley, dill, chervil, tarragon, chives, and cilantro, may be used.

The addition of feta cheese gives this frittata a rich, pungent flavor.

This is good with either of these greens, but try it in late summer or early fall when gardens are overflowing with Swiss chard.

Here’s a super way to use up leftover cooked green vegetables.

This is good at room temperature as well as warm. Try it out on kids; leftovers are good to pack in brown-bag lunches.

Simplicity is at its best in this hearty egg dish. It’s perfect for a cold-weather brunch (see the menu) or as a light dinner dish, served with fresh bread, salad, and orange sections.

This tasty frittata has a particularly pleasing texture, light and luscious like a soufflé on the inside, with lots of crust outside, especially when baked in a heavy cast-iron skillet. It’s an excellent brunch or lunch dish, served either warm or, if you want to make it ahead, at room temperature. And this lends itself to many tasty variations: simply fold into the rice mixture a cup or more of sautéed onions and peppers, cooked crumbled sausage, or cubes of Taleggio, before incorporating the whipped egg whites.

This is a different sort of frittata, not the neat golden round of well-set eggs that’s probably most familiar. Here the eggs are in the skillet for barely a minute, just long enough to gather in soft, loose folds, filled with morsels of asparagus and shreds of prosciutto. In fact, when I make this frittata or the “dragged” eggs—uova strapazzate, page 143—I leave my eggs still wet and glistening so I can mop up the plate with a crust of country bread. That’s the best part of all.

If you've got a handful of eggs in your fridge, you're halfway to making one of our favorite weeknight dishes, the versatile frittata. We like the earthy combination of peppers and mushrooms, though any combination of sautéed vegetables, herbs, and cheese will work.

The key to making this dish is to have all the ingredients prepared before you begin sautéing the onions.