I don’t make small frittatas. I make big ones. That’s the way I roll. The way I think of it is like this; if I’m going to spend the time and expense preparing something that can be put together in either a small skillet or a large one, I’ll choose the large one. It only makes sense. And if you’ve been reading this blog for any amount of time, you’ll know that I love leftovers. I truly love them. I get lots of leftovers from the extra food in a large skillet.
The Recipe
Today, I’d like to share a somewhat unique take on a normal frittata. The recipe I have for you calls for tons of broccoli and angel hair pasta. Yes, you read that correctly – pasta. Right there in the skillet with the eggs and everything else. I’ve never seen anything like this, so I was excited to make it.
The original recipe calls for the use of broccoli raab. I’ve recently fallen out of love with this type of broccoli, so any time I see it used in a recipe, I switch it out for regular broccoli. I’m not sure if it’s the texture or the bitterness I don’t like about the raab version – what I do know is that I truly enjoy the softness and flavor of the regular stuff. Especially after it’s been broken down by cooking it for a few minutes.
This recipe isn’t complex. It uses eggs like so many others of its type. It also uses Parmesan cheese, which is right up there with some of my other favorite ingredients. There’s garlic, red pepper flakes, white wine vinegar and the pasta. I already mentioned the pasta above, so that’s been taken care of.
I think the pasta adds some bulk to this frittata, which I really appreciate. As I was preparing this dish last night, I enjoyed watching the ingredients fill the skillet higher than they normally do. Also, I think the pasta added something in the way of extra belly filling. I was full after eating a piece, which is always a good thing.
Ingredients
Serves: 6
12 Large Eggs
2 Ounces Parmesan Cheese, Shredded
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Regular Olive Oil
Regular Table Salt
Ground Black Pepper
2 Teaspoons Garlic, Minced
1/8 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
1 Pound Broccoli, Cut into 1/2 Inch Pieces
Water
1 Tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
8 Ounces Angle Hair Pasta
Step-by-Step Instructions
I’d like to thank America’s Test Kitchen for this recipe. I browsed it in their book called The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook and after looking through it, I changed both the ingredient list and cooking process dramatically. I did get the idea from them though, so I thought I’d recognize that.
Cook the Broccoli
Warm a large 12-inch cast iron or non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of regular olive oil to it. When the pan is to temperature, add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Allow those two ingredients to cook for about 30 seconds. After that, add the broccoli, 1 tablespoon of water and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cover and let cook for about 5 minutes, with some stirring in between.
After 5 minutes, check the tenderness of the broccoli. The goal is to soften is slightly and have it still retain its green color. If it needs more cooking time, go ahead and keep it over the heat for a few more minutes.
Once the broccoli is tender, add the white wine vinegar to it, stir in and transfer all the contents of the skillet to a bowl and set aside for later use.
Make the Egg Mixture
In a large bowl, add the dozen eggs, 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix these ingredients together well and when finished, add in the shredded Parmesan cheese. Then, mix that in.
Combine Ingredients
Once you have the egg mixture finished, go ahead and add the broccoli mixture to it. Mix everything together well.
Pre-Heat Oven
At this point, I’d say it’s safe to pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Arrange a rack so it’s in the center position.
Cook Pasta
In the now empty skillet, add 3 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of regular olive oil and 1 teaspoon of salt. Turn the heat to high and wait for the liquid to boil. Then, add the spaghetti and let cook, while stirring, until the liquid has just about evaporated. The pasta should be soft and still moist.
Add Egg & Broccoli Mix to Skillet and Cook
When the spaghetti is finished, add the egg and broccoli mix to the skillet right on top of the pasta. Smooth everything out and then add the skillet to the oven.
Let cook in oven for about 15 minutes. The eggs should set by that point. Once that happens, turn the oven heat off and turn the broiler on high. Keep a close eye on the color of the top of the frittata. All you’re going for here is some browning. It can take less than 2 minutes for this to happen. Once you see some browning, turn off heat and remove the skillet from the oven.
The Final Frittata
I was quite pleased with how this turned out. I think the color looks good and the flavor is spot on. I cut the final product into 6 even pieces and Laura and I ate two of them. Now we have some lunch for today.
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