Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Arugula and Goat Cheese Frittata

Eggs. They're almost as versatile as the chicken itself. I like mine over easy, scrambled, or poached. I like omelets and eggs Benedict. And when I'm having brunch at my house, I like frittatas! They are so simple and are always a hit with the crowds.

Just before the new year my wife had some girlfriends over for brunch - I was asked to make a frittata so I decided on arugula and goat cheese it was delicious. If you want to try this at home, it's super easy. Start with a good bunch of arugula, trimmed of the stems and washed very well. Where I buy my arugula, it seems like it's just been plucked from the ground, roots still intact, leaves and stems still full of earth. Once you've stemmed and washed the arugula, add a little olive oil and about a tablespoon of butter to a non-stick pan over medium-high heat and preheat the broiler.

Add the arugula to the pan with a pinch of kosher salt and a few turns on the pepper mill. While the arugula is wilting down, beat a dozen eggs in a mixing bowl until frothy - you can cheat and mix them in a blender, just don't blend them too much! When the arugula has wilted down, add a clove of garlic, minced, stir, and pour in the eggs. Turn the heat down to medium now, you don't want to burn the eggs before you get them in the oven. Let the eggs cook on the stovetop for a few minutes until the bottom sets and the top is still uncooked. At this point, cut the end of a 4-6oz. log of soft goat cheese and pinch little bits of the goat cheese all around the top of the eggs. When finished, place the pan under the broiler - make sure your pan is oven-proof and doesn't have a rubber handle!


Keep a close eye on the pan while it's under the broiler, you want the top to brown up and the eggs to set, but you don't want anything to burn. It may take about 5 minutes.

Once the top is brown and the eggs are set, take the pan out of the broiler and carefully slide the frittata onto a plate.

I use a serrated knife to cut the frittata into wedges.


Enjoy!

18 comments:

  1. The frittata looks gorgeous! I don't why I deem frittatas too time consuming and go straight for making omelets. On the arugula/goat cheese combo -- there's a restaurant (Watershed) in Atlanta that had omelets filled with goat cheese, arugula and croutons. Excellent.

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  2. Nice work! I'm usually all about the quiche, but to hell with pie shells... you've inspired me to go with the frittata this weekend.

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  3. that looks good, almost quiche-esque

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  4. ooh yum! i'm a huge consumer of eggs and frittatas are right up my alley. i like the big dollops of goat cheese in yours.

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  5. Hi andrea - thanks! Frittatas certanly take a little longer to make than an omelet, but the preparation and detail involved is no more! Another great frittata is red pepper and asparagus with fresh herbs and manchego.

    Hi missginsu - thanks! I like quiche too, but the return on your effort for a frittata is much better!

    Hi eatersregret, thanks for stopping by!

    Hi anon - this was one of my favorite frittatas. Like an omelet, you can throw in just about anything and it will probably taste good!

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  6. Love the idea of using arugula in a frittata. I know I would love this.

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  7. Frittata is one of my go-to dishes for weekday lunches or dinner, too. Favorite combinations are spinach, mushroom and gruyere; or red onion, red bell pepper and feta.

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  8. Hi Kalyn, the arrugula was great in the frittata. I like an assortment of fresh herbs in my frittatas too.

    Hi Lydia, your frittata suggestions sounds great. I'll have to give them a try next weekend. Thanks!

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  9. That looks delicious. What a great idea for breakfast one of these weekends. I just may have to stray from my hashbrowns and fried eggs one of these days. :-)

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  10. Yum! The goat cheese looks just delicious. I am so sick of making pie crust after Christmas -- frittatas are definitely my breakfast-y dinner of choice!

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  11. One of my favorite greens is arugula ... my family ate it way, way before it became so trendy here in the states. I'm going to have to make this and eat it. Yum!

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  12. What a gorgeous frittata! I have yet to master frittatas. They always come out grainy for some reason. What size pan did you use?

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  13. Tara, it's hard to go wrong with fried eggs and hash browns, but frittatas certainly take eggs to another realm.

    Katy, definitely lose the pie crust! Frittatas are way cooler than quiche! Not to take anything away from quiche of course!

    San Francisco Photos, sad to say I first learned about arugula from Steve Martin in My Blue Heaven, circa 1990. Great movie!

    Anna, I don't know why your frittatas would come out grainy; do you stir the eggs at all once they go into the pan? For this frittata, I cheated and used the blender to mix the dozen eggs, but I usually beat them with a whisk. I think I used a 10" non-stick from Nordic Ware, although it may be a 12". I do know if you overcook the eggs, which I've done before, they can become grainy. I usually use medium heat on the stove top until the edges are set, then keep an eye on it under the broiler.

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  14. Beautiful! Your slice picture looks like an exotic type of blue cheese with dark veins.

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  15. Hi Cookie Baker Lynn, the frittata would probably good with blue cheese IN it! Try Great Hill Blue Cheese, it's from a great little farm in Massachusetts, and it's fantastic!

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  16. Looks delicious!! So much like a quiche. Love goat cheese too!

    Lori
    http://TheRecipeGirl.blogspot.com

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  17. This looks like one fiiiiiiiine frittata!

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  18. Hi Lori - It is like a quiche, but without the milk, or the pie dough. It was great with the soft goat cheese, I highly recommend it!

    Hi cakespy, thanks! Wait until you next one, it is so much prettier!

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