Does this happen to you? You’ve got a crowd staying over for the holidays, everyone is starting to converge on the kitchen the morning after the big meal, and you want to feed the masses while enjoying their company and your own sanity. Of course, you can do the bagel thing, or establish a pancake theme, but what if carbs are not user friendly for your dear ones, or you want to do something a little more on the healthy side, or you don’t want to be standing at the stove while everyone eats their three pancakes or toasted warm bagel one at a time?
Here are two suggestions that will not only bring the morning group eating experience together, but are great as leftovers. I sometimes cook these on Sunday morning for myself, and use them for lunch at work the next week. I love the wonderful gooiness of the poached egg in the Shakshuka recipe, but the flavors still pack a punch that beats anything I can buy at a lunch joint.
Another thing I love about these two recipes is that they almost go begging for substitutions: kale, hot peppers, asparagus, green beans, hot sauce, breakfast meat, feta cheese, cilantro, basil, and fresh tomatoes are all wonderful experiments. It’s one of those “use up your leftovers”-type treats, that also is visually pleasing if you get the veggies right. Warning: keep the veggie-to-egg ratio in line with the recipe, and make sure the veggies are “dry” before you add the eggs. Extra moisture means the eggs will need more time to gel, which in turn, makes them turn to leather as the water slowly evaporates.
If you like your eggs on the soft side, the Frittata recipe can be adjusted. Instead of putting the concoction under the broiler in Step 5, just set it in a 350-degree oven for 10 minutes, or however long it takes to get it to the texture you like.
Spinach and Red Pepper Frittata Martha Rose Shulman
New York Times Cooking App
Yield: 6 servings
Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
- 1 6-oz bag baby spinach, or 1 bunch spinach, washed and stemmed
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut in small dice
- 1 to 2 garlic cloves (to taste), minced
- 10 fresh marjoram leaves, chopped
- Salt
- 8 eggs
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons low-fat milk
Preparation
- Steam the spinach above an inch of boiling water until just wilted, about 2 minutes: or wilt in a large frying pan with the water left on the leaves after washing. Remove from the heat, rinse with cold water, and squeeze out excess water. Chop fine, and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a heavy 10-inch nonstick skillet (I use cast iron). Add the bell peppers. Cook, stirring often, until tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and salt to taste, stir for about half a minute, and stir in the chopped spinach and the marjoram. Stir together for a few seconds, then remove from the heat and set aside.
- Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the salt (about ½ teaspoon), pepper, milk, spinach, and red peppers. Clean and dry the pan, and return to the burner, set on medium-high. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet. Drop a bit of the egg into the pan; if it sizzles and cooks at once, the pan is ready. Pour in the egg mixture. Tilt the pan to distribute the eggs and filling evenly over the surface. Shake the pan gently, tilting it slightly with one hand while lifting up the edges of the frittata with a spatula in your other hand, to let the eggs run underneath during the first few minutes of cooking.
- Turn the heat to low, cover and cook 10 minutes, shaking the pan gently every once in a while. From time to time, remove the lid, tilt the pan, and loosen the bottom of the frittata with a wooden spatula so that it doesn’t burn. The bottom should turn a golden color. The eggs should be just about set; cook a few minutes longer if they’re not.
- Meanwhile, heat the broiler. Uncover the pan and place under the broiler, not too close to the heat, for 1 to 3 minutes, watching very carefully to make sure the top doesn’t burn (at most, it should brown very slightly and puff under the broiler). Remove from the heat, shake the pan to make sure the frittata isn’t sticking, and allow it to cool for at least 5 minutes and for as long as 15 minutes. Loosen the edges with a wooden or plastic spatula. Carefully slide from the pan onto a large round platter. Cut into wedges or into smaller bite-size diamonds. Serve hot, warm, at room temperature, or cold.
Shakshuka With Feta Melissa Clark
New York Times Cooking App
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
- 1 (28 ounce) can whole plum tomatoes with juices, coarsely chopped
- ¾ teaspoon salt, more as needed
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, more as needed
- 5 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1-¼ cups)
- 6 large eggs
- Chopped cilantro, for serving
- Hot sauce for serving
Preparation
- Heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook gently until very soft, about 20 minutes. Add garlic and cook until tender, 1 to 2 minutes; stir in cumin, paprika and cayenne, and cook 1 minute. Pour in tomatoes and season with ¾ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper; simmer until tomatoes have thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in crumbled feta.
- Gently crack eggs into skillet over tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until eggs are just set, 7 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with hot sauce.
