What is the best Frittata?

December 21, 2022 6:57 AM

I am having people over for dinner soon and have decided to make a few different Frittatas. These people do not have any food issues (except one is gluten-free). I am very good at making Frittatas so don't need instruction, I'm just curious what other people like in theirs. Be as specific as need be.
posted by dobbs to Food & Drink (23 answers total)

Mushrooms, onion, spinach, maybe a few cherry tomatoes, and parm to serve.

I like mushrooms because they are really good at holding steam. I guess that keeps the frittata hot and I like the effect of biting into a steamy mushroom. The flavor of spinach goes nicely with eggs. I like halved cherry tomatoes a little, mostly for how they look on the surface of the frittata. Onion, for both flavor and texture. We usually microplane fresh parm over the top to serve, and I don't like it nearly as much if we skip that step.

And then I like to have a really nice baguette, toasted and buttered, with the frittata. If there is a basic side salad with a sherry vinaigrette, even better.
posted by happy_cat at 7:13 AM on December 21, 2022

I love a sweetcorn frittata- this serves 2 generously:
3 eggs
1 small tin sweetcorn
Half a block of feta cheese
Pickled red jalapeño peppers
2 - 4 Spring onions
Fresh coriander

Serve with sweet chilli sauce.
posted by Dwardles at 7:16 AM on December 21, 2022 [5 favorites]

Goat cheese, spinach and peppers but need to make sure to get some moisture out of the spinach first or it will make it a soggy mess.
posted by nolnacs at 7:17 AM on December 21, 2022

Potato (sliced thin), bell pepper, and onions. Be sure to fry the potato first to get it crispy (and I like to also cook the onion and pepper with the potato too) before adding egg stuff.
posted by puffyn at 7:27 AM on December 21, 2022 [1 favorite]

My friends host a NYE party every year and every year a decadent artichoke dip is served. They also host a New Year's Day brunch for a select few. One year there was a leftover ramekin of the dip (that never happens!!) and I asked for it to be incorporated into one of the New Year's Day brunch frittatas. We now make extra portions of the dip just for a frittata.

So that's my answer. Leftover artichoke dip.
posted by cooker girl at 7:32 AM on December 21, 2022 [7 favorites]

Chorizo (or soyrizo), onion, cauliflower, cheddar cheese (pepper jack might also be good).

Not remotely traditional, but what i meal prep every week to have a breakfast that mimics my favorite breakfast burrito.
posted by itesser at 7:35 AM on December 21, 2022

Red onion and broccolini
posted by carrioncomfort at 7:36 AM on December 21, 2022

use sour cream for the dairy part of your egg mixture.

crunchy fried or roasted potatoes, roasted red pepper, onion, mushroms.

for me having some texture in the veggies makes it bbest.
posted by domino at 7:53 AM on December 21, 2022 [1 favorite]

Maybe ask your guests about mushrooms first? I myself can't stand the things.

I prefer a stiffer green to spinach (which I do like, just not as much in eggy dishes). Try chard, or even kale?
posted by humbug at 7:56 AM on December 21, 2022 [1 favorite]

Potatoes and eggs both taste great with salsa, and fresh salsa is easy to make, as well as really nutritious.
posted by theora55 at 8:03 AM on December 21, 2022

I guess it's most often leftover gyro meat, with olives (green or black or both), feta, garlic, onions, peppers, etc. -- whatever needs to get used up, really. Usually over noodles of some type. Maybe parmesan over everything.
posted by Bron at 8:15 AM on December 21, 2022

Chard and either bacon or pancetta with plenty of Gruyère and shallots. Some oil-packed and thin-sliced roasted pepper is a colorful addition. Cook down the chard stem pieces to start - they should still be firm but not taste of oxalate.
posted by janell at 8:22 AM on December 21, 2022

thinly sliced Sweet potato (orange or purple), carmelized onion, and goat cheese!
posted by atomicstone at 8:26 AM on December 21, 2022

Ham, Gruyère, mushrooms, parsley
posted by olopua at 8:27 AM on December 21, 2022 [2 favorites]

Sour cream as the dairy, smoked salmon, scallions, capers, and dill inside.

Roasted eggplant, sundried tomatoes, caramelized onions and arugula, generously dressed with really nice flavorful olive oil and served with garlic bread.

Mushrooms in frittatas are best when thinly sliced, I think. Try a combination of thinly sliced and browned shiitake and crimini with shallots, paprika, and a swiss-adjacent cheese like jarlesburg.

Leftover enchilada frittata: chicken in green chili sauce, cilantro, shredded Mexican cheese blend, crumbled up tortilla chips (no, seriously, they do this great texture thing), lime pickled radishes and onions on top.
posted by Mizu at 8:27 AM on December 21, 2022 [3 favorites]

Shredded zucchini, tomato, onion, and Parmesan.
posted by corey flood at 8:32 AM on December 21, 2022

I once took a big spoon and scooped out the innards of the half of a roasted butternut squash and plopped that into my frittata with great success. This was along with the usual sauteed savories like onion and maybe a little garlic and plenty of leftover cheese. Even my mother approved and she hates everything I cook. I also like to lay a lot of herbs or whatever else you got on the top of the frittata in a visually pleasing manner.
posted by rdnnyc at 8:43 AM on December 21, 2022 [2 favorites]

This is like choosing between your children!
But if it was for guests, I'd go with a Spanish tortilla and kuku sabzi, and perhaps a spinach frittata for the faint of heart. Because they each have stories to tell.
posted by mumimor at 9:25 AM on December 21, 2022 [2 favorites]

I once made one with slices (think gratin-thick, thicker than potato chip so there's brown bits and soft bits) of roasted sweet potato, maybe a tablespoon of caramelized onions left over from something else whisked into the egg, crumbled goat cheese, and slices of Roma tomato floated carefully on the top with shredded parmesan dusted over them so both browned. I need to make that again soon.

I don't really eat shrimp anymore, but I used to routinely make quiches with the little "salad" size shrimp, fine-diced onion, a cheese like gruyere, and a ton of chopped crispy bacon. There's a sweet-smoky balance between the shrimp and the bacon that I don't know if I could replicate with anything other than shrimp.

Speaking of artichokes, if you can get your hands on a sufficient amount of artichoke bottoms, they make a really nice soft-toothiness in quiche. I would cut into quarters or sixths. I think Trader Joe's used to sell them frozen, I only occasionally see them canned these days.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:35 AM on December 21, 2022

I'll throw in Artichoke Marinara, this is creamy green in color. I got it at Trader Joes, nice for a fritata sauce. Cooked,crispy fried garlic and pumpkin seed potatoes with sweet red peppers, basil, dill, seasoned salt, feta cheese and spinach inside, Dubliner melted on top.
posted by Oyéah at 10:54 AM on December 21, 2022

Caramelized onion, roasted sweet potato, walnuts, gruyere cheese. Top with fried sage leaves if you're feeling fancy.
posted by esoterrica at 10:54 AM on December 21, 2022 [1 favorite]

Oh yeah, and sun dried tomatoes are great to use for sauteeing stuff for fritatas or potato dishes.
posted by Oyéah at 11:23 AM on December 21, 2022

The typical here is sweet potatoes along with Italian sausage and whatever other veg I can find to throw in, which almost always includes corn and carrots. Onion and celery, too.

The atypical, but darned tasty was imitation crab, tomatoes, spinach, and a little ham. I added a little orange and ginger, which made the other flavors really pop.
posted by DaveP at 5:30 AM on December 22, 2022