Healthy Oven Baked Frittata with Potato, Peppers and Leek
Sometimes those simple dishes are the best- don't you agree? Like this tasty omelette, or frittata as they are called in Italy. Especially when you can make such a tasty dish in a more healthy way, cut down on the fat and enjoy the good, rich flavors of those fresh, delicious vegetables- good food and guilt-free! You have got to like that- I certainly do!
This frittata starts its life in a steamer of all places, switches to a non-stick pan which is just brushed with a hint of olive oil and then gets finished in the oven... definitely my preferred method! By pre-cooking the vegetables in steam, I eliminated the need to fry them before adding them to the egg- it simply makes good sense to me- and maybe to you too after reading how I went about it... Let's get started!
This frittata starts its life in a steamer of all places, switches to a non-stick pan which is just brushed with a hint of olive oil and then gets finished in the oven... definitely my preferred method! By pre-cooking the vegetables in steam, I eliminated the need to fry them before adding them to the egg- it simply makes good sense to me- and maybe to you too after reading how I went about it... Let's get started!
I began by scrubbing one humble little potato clean and cutting it, unpeeled, into nice bite-sized slices. I popped these into my steamer, with about 6" of leek cut into slices on top of them, and a couple of mini bell peppers in slices on top of them. Plan ahead, cut down on your work- and boost those flavors by keeping them pure!
The vegetables needed to steam for 10 minutes, in which time I was able to prepare the eggs, herbs and spices for the frittata. To my one potato and 2 mini-pepper mix, I added 3 eggs, which were just enough to cover and bind the other ingredients. I beat the eggs and added a handful of finely chopped parsley, a handful of finely grated Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and grated nutmeg. I bet these together well and got ready to put my frittata together- which means that I turned on the broiler to have it nice and hot and ready to go and that I prepared a small non-stick pan...
I took the vegetables out of the steamer and let them cool for a while, whilst my frying pan heated up. I brushed it lightly with olive oil and then poured in just enough of the egg batter to cover the bottom of the pan, then added a layer of potatoes, peppers and leeks. I sprinkled this with parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg, then covered it with more of the egg batter and repeated the procedure of adding the vegetables, then more cheese and egg and so on- I ended up with 4 layers in all in my case. All the while, the frittata was cooking away on the stovetop- so yes- I was working quickly! I didn't want anything to burn after all!
I finished the frittata off with a final sprinkle of cheese, salt and pepper and popped it underneath the broiler for 5-6 minutes to finish. Once it was a beautiful golden brown on top, I turned off the heat and let it sit in the oven for a further minute or two to make sure that the egg was set in the middle- and this way the egg did not end up drying out completely by being in the oven for too long... perfect!
So again, a simple dish, sure- but a tasty one in any case, as well as being easy, filling and cheap to make. Yes, those are plenty of reasons for liking this little omelette of mine! So I sure hope that you do!
The vegetables needed to steam for 10 minutes, in which time I was able to prepare the eggs, herbs and spices for the frittata. To my one potato and 2 mini-pepper mix, I added 3 eggs, which were just enough to cover and bind the other ingredients. I beat the eggs and added a handful of finely chopped parsley, a handful of finely grated Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and grated nutmeg. I bet these together well and got ready to put my frittata together- which means that I turned on the broiler to have it nice and hot and ready to go and that I prepared a small non-stick pan...
I took the vegetables out of the steamer and let them cool for a while, whilst my frying pan heated up. I brushed it lightly with olive oil and then poured in just enough of the egg batter to cover the bottom of the pan, then added a layer of potatoes, peppers and leeks. I sprinkled this with parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg, then covered it with more of the egg batter and repeated the procedure of adding the vegetables, then more cheese and egg and so on- I ended up with 4 layers in all in my case. All the while, the frittata was cooking away on the stovetop- so yes- I was working quickly! I didn't want anything to burn after all!
I finished the frittata off with a final sprinkle of cheese, salt and pepper and popped it underneath the broiler for 5-6 minutes to finish. Once it was a beautiful golden brown on top, I turned off the heat and let it sit in the oven for a further minute or two to make sure that the egg was set in the middle- and this way the egg did not end up drying out completely by being in the oven for too long... perfect!
So again, a simple dish, sure- but a tasty one in any case, as well as being easy, filling and cheap to make. Yes, those are plenty of reasons for liking this little omelette of mine! So I sure hope that you do!
No comments:
Post a Comment