Bring on Breakfast for Dinner

Frittata is our springtime weeknight ace-in-the-hole

Issue 17: From Dana

I don’t know about you, but this time of year, when daylight stretches on and warm evenings lure us outside, the dinnertime hustle is real and intense. Between afterschool activities and afterwork fun, my family finds themselves rolling in later than usual, often without a dinner plan. 

In my house, it’s breakfast for dinner to the rescue on nights like these. By now, my son is on to me, but if you’re new to this tactic, you can couch the easy, feed-the-fam solution as a fun cook-together plan. If there’s one thing we’ve learned from spending time in the kitchen with kids, it’s that they get super excited about dinner when you tell them they’re making breakfast. Like pajama day at school, there’s something whimsical and cool about moving the things we love about mornings to prime time.

You can take this theme in countless directions: poached eggs over a potato hash, pancakes with chive sausage and salad, sweet and savory crepes. But by far the easiest is also my personal fave: a skillet frittata filled with whatever vegetables and cheeses and herbs (not to mention leftover bits and bobs) you have on hand.

I started making frittatas when I was living in Mileto, the town in Calabria (on the toe of Italy’s boot) where my grandfather was born, and my Aunt Bettina pulled the breakfast-for-dinner trick on me. On the weekends, our main meals were in the middle of the day and they were epic, multi-course affairs: braised meats, sauteed vegetables, pasta and slow-simmered sauce, bread from the communal oven in town and fresh ricotta from the local dairy. 

After a spread like that, who could think of dinner? Certainly not Bettina (nor me, her kitchen helper) but come 8pm or so, when the family was starting to feel peckish, she’d announce that she was in the mood for “una buona frittata”. She’d reheat some leftover vegetables and meats in the pan, whisk up a dozen eggs with a bit of milk or cream, pour it over top and dollop in some of that ricotta, then bake it until it puffed up golden and ready to slice and serve with a little salad and a glass of wine.

Spring is a great time of year to make frittatas: with the market starting to pop, the basic recipe is a beautiful canvas for whatever vegetables you might find or be inspired to add. This weekend, after a day of running around and having a late lunch out, my son and I made one for dinner with asparagus, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and thyme. He’s not a fan of ricotta, so I let him pick between Cheddar and goat cheese (he chose wisely.) 

After I put it in the oven to let it bake, I may have even gotten into my pajamas and made myself a mimosa. Turns out, parents enjoy breakfast for dinner, too.  

Asparagus, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Frittata
Serves 6-8

12 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces (about 2 cups)
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
A few sprigs fresh thyme, de-stemmed
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup (about 2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese 

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and heavy cream until well combined. 

In an oven-safe 12-inch skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and caramelized to a deep golden brown color (about 10 to 12 minutes). Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook until the mushrooms soften and any water they release has evaporated. Add the asparagus and tomatoes and stir until the asparagus is bright green and the tomatoes are softened a bit on the outside. Remove the pan from the heat, drain out any excess water, mix in the thyme, then season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Pour the egg mixture over the cooked vegetables, crumble the goat cheese over top, and transfer the pan to the oven. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the eggs are just set. (When you gently shake the pan they should slightly shift back and forth). Remove the pan from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes. Use a rubber spatula to free the frittata from the pan. Slice into wedges and serve.