Vegetarian Frittata

I’ve written about my love for breakfast and brunch before. When I think about brunches, it all goes back to a Holiday Brunch that I hosted for my girlfriends about 7 or 8 years ago. I don’t remember how I came up with an idea about doing a brunch instead of dinner, but there I was a night before, listening to carols and cheerful holiday music, baking, whisking and chopping for hours until after midnight, just so that everything would be ready the next day and I wouldn’t have to slave in the kitchen right before the guests came. That brunch, which took many hours and lasted way into the evening, was magical – filled with gossip and laughter, good food, coffee, mulled wine, presents and friends. Before long, that Holiday Brunch became an annual tradition.

A few years later, somehow we decided to extend our girlie brunch tradition and started doing it a few times a year, changing locations, sometimes meeting at one friend’s place, sometimes another and on occasion even going out for brunch to a restaurant where the owners already recognize our loud and cheerful group. Of course we still see each other for dinners, lunches, birthdays, but those gatherings have friends, husbands, brothers, kids, whereas our Girlie Brunches are just for us, girls, gossiping, eating, laughing.

This past weekend I hosted another Brunch. It was small, only three people, but we had a lot of fun. There was cheese, veggies, crackers and hummus for appetizers and waffles with maple syrup and Vegetarian Frittata for main course. Well, and dessert, of course! We had Peach Cookies, homemade ice cream, chia pudding and fruit.

This Vegetarian Frittata is something I make relatively regular, varying the ingredients from time to time to accommodate what I have in my fridge. It’s a perfect dish for an easy and light dinner, lunch or brunch. Easy to make, healthy and filling.

Vegetarian Frittata

Olive oil – 1 tablespoon
Onion – 1 large
Garlic – 2 cloves
Bell peppers – 2 large
Frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and drained – 300 g
Italian seasoning – 1 teaspoon
Salt, pepper to taste
Eggs – 7, extra-large
Milk – 1 cup
Cheddar, shredded – 80 g
Cherry tomatoes – 300 g

• Preheat the oven to 375 F.
• In a large pan, heat the oil on medium heat.
• While oil is heating, dice the onion, mince garlic and dice peppers.
• Sauté onion in the oil for about 10 minutes, until soft and starting to turn colour. Add garlic and cook for another one or two minutes.
• Add peppers and cook for 5 more minutes until they soften.
• Add spinach, mix and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
• Add italian seasoning, salt, pepper, mix well and cook to make sure that there’s no liquid.
• Place the vegetable mixture into a pie plate (8 or 9 inch in diameter).
• Sprinkle half of the cheese over the veggies.
• In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and milk until fully smooth.
• Pour the egg mixture over the cheese and place in the oven for about 15 minutes.
• After 15 minutes, eggs should just start to turn solid, take the pan out and place tomatoes on top. This way they will stay on top instead of sinking inside the frittata. Alternatively, you could put tomatoes over vegetables and pour egg mixture over too.
• Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the eggs and tomatoes and return back to the oven.
• Bake for another 30-45 minutes depending on your oven or until the eggs are fully cooked.