Cast Iron Skillet Frittata

For holidays, my husband and I love to make a yummy brunch together to celebrate.  This Easter, since we still had so many eggs leftover from our Guerrilla Taco emergency kit, we decided that it made sense to make a frittata.  You may be wondering what the difference is between a frittata and a quiche.  My husband kept saying we were making a quiche and I had to keep correcting him to say we were making a frittata.  1- Quiches have pastry crusts.  Now, sometimes I put a hashbrown crust on my frittatas, but that doesn't make it a quiche. The crust of a quiche is a crumbly pastry, which is one of the things that sets it apart from a frittata.  2- Quiches typically have milk whipped into the egg mixture to make it lighter and fluffier, while a frittata is denser and more egg-based.  Since my husband is lactose intolerant, quiches are off the table, but frittatas are totally fair game.  Now that we've gotten that out of the way, here's the recipe for our Easter frittata.

One of the great things about a frittata is that you can pretty much put anything inside it.  I typically opt for 1 type of meat and 2 vegetables because I find that it's a good filling-to-egg ratio.  But feel free to go wild and make it your own!

Servings: 4-6
Total Time: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients:
16 eggs*
1 lb breakfast sausage
2 medium bell peppers, chopped
2 cups spinach, roughly chopped
Salt & pepper to taste
Hot sauce to taste

*We used a 12" cast iron skillet.  If you're using a 10", you can use 12 eggs.

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. Chop your vegetables into bite-sized pieces.
3. Cook your fillings.  I had one pan going for the sausage while I cooked the peppers.  The peppers should cook for 3-4 minutes to soften before adding the spinach.  Don't forget to salt & pepper your fillings!
4. While your fillings are cooking, crack your eggs into a bowl and beat them until the whites and yolks are combined.  Season your eggs generously with salt, pepper, and hot sauce of your choice.  I like to add some hot sauce at this step to give the eggs a little extra kick and then I top the frittata with hot sauce again.
5. Once your fillings are cooked, layer them evenly on the bottom of the pan and add your egg mixture over, ensuring that the egg coats the pan evenly.
6. Cook your eggs over medium heat for 3 minutes before transferring to the oven.
7. Bake for 22-26 minutes, until the egg has completely set.  If you're using 12 eggs and a 10" skillet, bake for 18-22 minutes.
8. Remove your frittata and let sit for at least 5 minutes before cutting and enjoying.
9. Top with your favorite hot sauce and enjoy with a bloody mary or mimosa!

A few things to note - it's important that you cut your vegetables uniformly so they cook evenly.  As you can tell from the photo below, my sous chef (my husband) did not do a great job of this.  Luckily, things turned out great anyways, but if you've ever watched a cooking competition show, you know how important consistent knife cuts are.

Sweat out your vegetables, adding your spinach last since it only takes a minute to wilt.  Don't forget to season each layer of ingredients.  This will help them taste better and will also help the vegetables lose water before you add the eggs.  Nobody wants a soggy frittata, so make sure you complete this step!

Beat and season your eggs.  You don't want to eat bland eggs, so seasoning them generously is key.

Add your fillings in the pan, ensuring you have even coverage.

Add your eggs.

Bake!  Once your frittata comes out of the oven, it should look like the picture below.

Notice the filling to egg ratio below.  Any more filling and this bad boy would just fall apart.  It's important that you add enough eggs as a binder.  After all, a frittata is an egg dish, so it's key that you don't skimp on the eggs.

Cut yourself a slice and top with hot sauce.  Enjoy with a bloody mary (always 2 olives) or a mimosa.

What would you fill your frittatas with?