Pretty-Clean, Organic Vegetarian Frittata

I recently hosted an informal breakfast at 8:30 in the morning and wanted a quick and healthy spread that could please any dietary constraint in attendance – “all-organic, cow’s milk-free, gluten-free, meat-free, grain-free vegetarian frittata” (whew!), fresh fruit bowl, and organic coffee with raw honey and freshly made almond milk would certainly satisfy the early-morning crowd.

Frittatas are basically a crustless quiche but I wanted to clean it up even further by omitting any cow’s milk/cream, cheese or meats which are often included.  Instead, I went the extra mile and made some quick homemade almond cream instead of using cow’s milk (almond cream is the same process as homemade, fresh almond milk but with 1/3 less water) and used a bit of crumbled goat’s milk cheese which is the better choice over cow’s milk cheese according to some experts.  You could still skip the goat cheese to make it dairy-free and totally clean, but it does add a lot of flavor.

You can make any number of vegetable combinations for this frittata but I happened to pick up the organic broccolini and green onions that looked good in-store.  I figured those ingredients would help it look fresh and bright for Spring and I wanted to stay away from veggies that might express a bunch of water when cooked and mess with the outcome.  The broccolini does have a bit of a bitterness to it similar to broccoli rabe, so if you want a softer taste you may want to substitute regular broccoli florets or asparagus.  I did chop the broccolini and green onions the night before and keep them in the refrigerator so I could just throw everything together in the iron skillet in the morning.  That makes for a much less stressful cooking and hosting experience first thing in the morning!

Organic Broccolini and Goat Cheese Frittata
Serves: 6
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 6 organic, pasture-raised eggs (or your own egg preference or availability)
• 1 bunch organic broccolini (or substitute), a lot of the leaves removed and diced – stems included
• 1 bunch organic green onions, chopped about half-way up the green stems
• 1/4 cup almond cream (ratio: 1 cup soaked almonds to 2 cups water – see recipe)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Sprinkle of red pepper flakes to taste

Note: My iron skillet is 12″, therefore, my frittata was pretty thin, but it helps in making a quick frittata.  If you like a thicker frittata, increase ingredients accordingly.  If your skillet is smaller, you’re all set!

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to bake at 400 degrees.  Arrange rack to place skillet in the middle.
2. Whisk the eggs, almond cream, garlic, paprika until creamy and add any salt and pepper desired.  Set aside.
3. Heat the olive oil in a cast iron pan (or other oven-safe pan) over medium heat.  Sauté broccolini and green onion with some salt and pepper until the broccolini turn a bright green color.  About 5 minutes.
4. Add the egg mixture to the pan and make sure it covers it evenly.  Sprinkle the goat cheese and red pepper flakes evenly across the top of the frittata.  Bake for about 15 minutes or until the sides start to look golden brown and the eggs are cooked through.
5. Remove from the oven, cool slightly, slice and serve.