Italian · Breakfast

Vegetable Frittata

Eggs started on the hob and finished under a grill, with the vegetables cooked properly first so they do not water it down. Good hot, better at room temperature, and the best thing to do with what is left in the fridge.

40 min total Serves 6 servings Easy
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Vegetable Frittata

Photograph credit: Frittata 1 by No machine-readable author provided. Edward assumed (based on copyright claims). · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

A watery frittata is a vegetable problem, not an egg problem: courgettes and mushrooms are mostly water and they release it into the custard unless they are cooked dry first. The eggs themselves want gentle heat and an early stop — protein set slowly stays tender, protein blasted turns rubbery and weeps. Starting on the hob sets the base and lets you stir the first curds; finishing under the grill cooks the top without ever taking the middle past just-set.

Vegetable Frittata: Step by Step

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  1. Heat the grill to high with a shelf about 15 cm below it.

  2. Whisk the eggs with the cream, Parmigiano, salt and pepper until completely uniform, then leave them to stand while you cook the vegetables.

  3. Heat the oil in a 26 cm ovenproof frying pan over medium-high. Cook the onion and pepper 6 minutes, then add the courgette and mushrooms and cook 8 minutes more, until everything is browned and the pan is dry. This is the step that decides whether the frittata weeps.

  4. Add the garlic for 30 seconds, then the spinach, and stir until it has wilted and any liquid has boiled off.

  5. Spread the vegetables into an even layer and drop the heat to low.

  6. Pour in the eggs and leave 30 seconds, then stir gently with a spatula for a minute, pulling the setting edges toward the middle, until the mixture is thickened but still very loose.

  7. Stop stirring, scatter the feta over, and cook undisturbed 5 to 6 minutes until the edges are set and only the centre still wobbles.

  8. Slide the pan under the grill for 2 to 4 minutes, until puffed and golden and the middle is just barely set. Take it out while it still looks slightly underdone.

  9. Rest 5 minutes, scatter with herbs, and cut into wedges.

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Tips That Matter

  • Cook the vegetables until the pan is dry. Everything else about this recipe is easy.
  • Pull it early. A frittata carries on cooking in the pan and one that looks perfect under the grill is overcooked by the time it is cut.
  • It is genuinely better at room temperature, so it is a good thing to make an hour ahead.

Common Substitutions & Variations

  • In a sauce, full-fat crème fraîche can usually take the place of the double cream; single cream is thinner and more likely to split if it boils, so keep it below a simmer.
  • An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

Serve It With

A green salad with lemon · Crusty bread · A cold glass of Soave

Leftovers and Storage

Refrigerated for 3 days. Eat cold or at room temperature rather than reheating, which toughens the eggs.

What's in a Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.

363Calories
22gProtein
8gCarbs
27gFat
2gFibre
4gSugar
850mgSodium

Vegetarian when made with a hard cheese made without animal rennet in place of the parmigiano-reggiano.

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Compiled by Turab

Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.

First published ; last changed .