As you get the hang of home cooking, you get better, or not, at improvisation—making up new recipes or adapting old ones, to your current pantry or today’s whim. I suspect that my grandmother’s claims that she couldn’t pass along her greatest recipes was more about not remembering exactly how to make that Irish stew or knowing that she never made it the same way twice. Lesson learned.
For some, or until you reach home cooking nirvana, executing a precise step-by-step routine is all you care about. And there’s nothing wrong with that! But joy and bliss await when you can cook on the fly—unless you really screw it up. 😉
I really love frittatas because like my chili or soups and stew and casseroles, they are ready, willing, and able to be modified, amplified, adapted, or short-changed as your ingredient supply changes.
Ketoistas: Obviously, frittatas are totally Keto—check out those carbs! And infinitely adaptable to mitigate boredom.
Dads!: So many ways that kids can help with this. Selecting ingredients, stirring, pouring, setting the timer, dicing(?).
Here’s a frittata I made today that’s a keeper—unless I forget how I did it next time.
The Versatile Fritatta
Equipment
- 10" cast iron skillet
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp butter
- 4 oz chorizo
- 2 green onions diced fresh
- 1 medium jalapeno diced fresh
- 1 medium tomato chopped fresh
- 1 tbsp Dad's spice mix or taco seasoning or similar
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 oz cheddar cheese grated sharp or Mexican blend
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°
- In a 10" iron skillet or any skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add chorizo and break it up into tiny bits with a fork or spoon as it cooks for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, dice the onion, jalapeno, and tomato. Add to the chorizo and cook well, for at least 5 minutes. You want to cook of most of the tomato water without burning anything.
- Add Dad's spice mix or other spices and mix well.
- In a bowl, combine the eggs, cream and cheese. Add to the meat mixture and stir the bits around so they are evenly distributed.
- Pop into the oven and cook five minutes. Check to see if still jiggly. Keep in the oven, checking every minute until jiggling center has all but solidified. The top of the frittata should be slightly brown.
- Remove from oven, let cool five minutes. Garnish as you serve.