Thursday, March 20, 2008

Spring Vegetable Frittata and Whole Wheat Biscuits



It's been ages since I made a frittata. If you're not familiar with them, frittatas are like crustless quiches. Basically, they're composed of eggs and whatever you want to add to flavor them. They're started in a pan and baked in the oven to finish. The end result is an egg dish that looks like a pie and can be served hot, warm, or room temperature.

This time, I decided to load up my frittata with veggies. I used a combination of onions, asparagus, zucchini, spinach, and roasted red peppers. It turned out to be very light on the eggs, which was fine with me. I used only 4 eggs to make this dish, but if you'd prefer to have more eggs to balance the veggies, you could go up to even 6 eggs.


Frittata:
(Serves 6-8)




Ingredients:

Eggs - 4
Onion - 1 medium, chopped
Garlic - 3 cloves, grated
Asparagus - 5-6 spears, cut into 1 inch long pieces
Zucchini - 1 medium, cut into medium dice
Frozen spinach - 1 10 oz package, defrosted and squeezed dry (You could use fresh, if you have it)
Roasted red pepper - 1, coarsely chopped
Salt - to taste
Parmesan cheese - 2 tbsp
Milk - 2 tbsp
Crushed red pepper flakes - to taste
Olive oil

Method:

1. Beat the eggs with milk, Parmesan cheese, salt to taste, and black pepper. Keep aside. Preheat the oven to 425 F

2. Heat oil in a 10 inch skillet. When hot, add the onions and crushed red pepper flakes. Fry until the onions turn translucent.

3. Now, add the asparagus, zucchini, garlic, and a little salt. Fry until the veggies are crisp-tender.

4. Add the frozen spinach and roasted red peppers. Toss for a few seconds.

5. At this stage, add the egg mixture. Stir gently to combine. Allow the whole thing to start to firm up a little around the edges.

6. Now, place the pan in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until the eggs are fully cooked and the
frittata is solid. You can check for doneness with a toothpick, if you're not sure. The toothpick will come out dry (i.e., no uncooked egg) when it's done.

7. Remove from the oven. Carefully run a spatula around the edges and the bottom of the
frittata, being careful not to break it. Gently slide it out onto a serving dish. You could just serve it out of the pan, if you want.

I garnished it with just a little bit of shredded Parmesan, but that's totally optional. Cut into wedges and serve!


Frittata slice!

I served these with whole wheat biscuits, since my husband loves biscuits. The recipe is my modification from one I originally saw on Lisa's blog here. I used garlic and Parmesan to flavor these and boy, were they a hit!!

I love these because they're wheat and they use olive oil instead of butter and/or shortening. You wind up with biscuits that are soft and fluffy as clouds. Truly wonderful!!

Whole Wheat Biscuits:

Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 1 cup

Whole wheat flour - 3/4 cup

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Baking powder - 1 tbsp
Olive oil - 5 tbsp
Milk - 1 cup
Parmesan Cheese - 2 tbsp
Garlic - 2 cloves, grated
Black pepper powder - 2 tsp, optional

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F

2. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flours, salt, baking powder).

3. Now, add the olive oil, milk, cheese, and garlic.

4. Stir until just combined. Do not over-stir or the biscuits will be tough!

5. Drop onto a greased baking sheet in 1/4 cup amounts. Sprinkle black pepper on top, if desired.

6. Bake at 450 F for 10-12 minutes until light golden.

Makes about 12 biscuits.


The final resulting breakfast:


Breakfast of Champions!

I am sending these over to my dear girl Mansi, over at Fun and Food. She's hosting this month's WBB, with the theme of balanced breakfasts. I hope she is satisfied with the balance of protein, veggies, and whole grain in this breakfast! :)

33 comments:

Cham said...

Loaded of veggie in Frittata and wheat biscuit, u can still skip the lunch , dear :)

Mansi said...

I'll gladly have the frittata, without the asparagus maybe:) and the biscuits, boy they look awesome! thanks for participating in WBB Kalai!:)

Dhivya said...

Its indeed a healthy bf kalai..pic looks yummmmmmmm

Uma said...

Wow, simply superb. Can I have a piece of that fritatta and a biscuit, Kalai! Lovely recipes.

indosungod said...

Breakfast of Champions! yes indeed. That looks absolutely fabulous. I have been thinking of making frittata too, for brunch soon.

Cynthia said...

Wow! Now that's a heart-healthy breakfast.

Pravs said...

Looks very healthy, with all those veggies.

Seema said...

Thats a super healthy breakfast... Frittatas look so perfect & delicious.. with Wheat biscuits on the side....Cannot ask for more!

Ramya's Mane Adige said...

Love the whole wheat biscuits!!

Lavanya Raj said...

Frittata looks great Kalai..a balanced breakfast indeed.

EC said...

The biscuits look lovely

sra said...

Looks like it's literally bursting with health!

Anonymous said...

Wow..your dish looks amazing!!! A really healthy breakfast.I will definitely try this one out.

Finla said...

Wow the fritata looks so moist and delicious

kamala said...

Both r looking simply superb

Richa said...

hey, those biscuits sound good, so it is 1tbsp bk pwd!
would like to try them, how did they stay after a day or so? if any were left that is...lol

Unknown said...

the fritata looks wonderful....avery healthy breakfast:)

sandhya said...

nice and healthy breakfast...

Jayashree said...

The frittata looks delicious.....would make a perfect brunch.

Kalai said...

It's actually not very heavy, surprisingly, Cham! :)

Mansi, not a fan of asparagus? No worries! :)

Dhivya, thanks, girl! :)

Uma, pls help yourself! :)

Indo, thank you! It sure is a great brunch dish! :)

Kalai said...

Cynthia, I try! :)

Pravs, thank you! :)

Seema, healthy and delicious! :)

Ramya, thanks and I hope you try them! :)

Lavi, thank you! :)

Kalai said...

EC, quick and easy, too! :)

Homecooked, looking fwd to your feedback! :)

Thanks, happy cook! :)

Thank you, Kamala! :)

Richa, yes, 1 tbsp is right. They are actually still good the next day, if you warm them in the oven or toast them. You're right, not usually any left, though! :)

Kalai said...

Thank you, Saswati! :)

Sandhya, you got it right! :)

Jayashree, definitely a wonderful brunch dish! :)

Lisa Turner said...

I'm a big fan of frittatas and have been making a few different versions lately. Love the sound and look of yours.

Glad you enjoyed the biscuits. Garlic is an interesting addition and good idea to use some whole wheat flour.

Meera said...

Wow, what a deliciously healthy combo!!! Wonderful entry.

Daily Meals said...

Hi Kalai! The breakfast looks so healthy. Nice entry!

sunita said...

Love frittatas too...your's look gorgeous....and those biscuits look great too.

Kalai said...

Lisa, thanks, girl! The biscuits are awesome!! Garlic is definitely one of my best friends when it comes to cooking... :)

Meera, thank you and welcome to my blog! :)

Daily Meals, thanks for the kind words! :)

Sunita, would love to see your version, too! :)

Seena said...

Kala,never seen this before, looks really wonderful.. :)
I liked your Soup too.. :)

Namratha said...

Perfect dish Kalai, love the use of all the veggies :)

Kalai said...

Hope you try it, Seena!

It's so satisfying, too, Namratha! Thanks! :)

Deepa Kuber said...

i loved this too, u have a good collection of recipes.. do visit my blog.

Trupti said...

very nice healthy dish..thanks for sharing this recipe