If you are like me, you always have some eggs on hand and you almost always have some Italian turkey sausage in the freezer. Eggs and sausage are great for last-minute dinners because eggs cook so quickly and turkey sausage can thaw out really quickly even if you take it out of the freezer at the last minute. I run it under warm water to thaw—if you have a microwave, that makes things even easier. What to do with that sausage once it is thawed? I actually have two last-minute strategies: pasta sauce and frittatas. Today I’ll discuss frittatas!
The frittata is my recently-discovered wonder dinner. The entire dinner, including getting a salad together, takes perhaps 20 minutes. It is very flexible and allows you to use up veggies that are about to go bad. The leftovers are also delicious for lunch or breakfast the next day. My method comes from Mark Bittman, with some adjustments.
You will need:
2 Tbs. olive oil
chopped hard veggies, in any combination, such as onions, bell peppers, zucchini, etc.
2 links sausage, removed from casing (if desired)
chopped “soft” veggies, such as tomatoes and mushrooms (total combined veggies should be at least a cup but you can vary widely and it has no effect
greens, such as spinach, if desired
fresh herbs, if desired
6 eggs (or more if you want to make a big ole frittata. But six works well in my 10-inch skillet)
parmesan cheese, if desired
1) Chop the hard veggies—cut them pretty fine.
2) heat about one Tbs (or one glug) olive oil in a 10-inch skillet (is that the size of the normal skillet? I think so—you know what I mean—the basic skillet) over med-high heat. Add veggies.
3) Sautee veggies for 5 minutes until softened. Adjust heat so they don’t burn. While this is going on, cut up the soft veggies.
4) After five minutes, add the sausage, if you are going for the meat version. Just squeeze it out of casing and break up in the pan. Don’t add salt until after the sausage is cooked, btw. That stuff can be salty. When the sausage is mostly cooked and crumbly, add the soft veggies.
5) Turn the heat down to low (or I would say medium-low: just one smidge up from low) and cook soft veggies for five minutes. While that is going on, whisk the eggs up in a separate bowl and prep the herbs and greens. Basil is delish, as is baby spinach.
6) When soft veggies are cooked, taste and adjust the salt and pepper, then ADD THE SECOND TBS (or glug) OF OLIVE OIL and toss in the herbs and greens and sauté until just wilted. Then distribute everything evenly in the pan and carefully pour the eggs over the top. You can use your sautéing implement to sort of ease the flow so everything stays in place in the pan. It will be anticlimactic and hardly sizzle at all, but that is normal. Grate cheese over top if desired.
7) Leave that pan on low, totally undisturbed, for about 10 minutes. Go make a salad.
8) Check your pan periodically after about six minutes. The eggs should be setting up nicely. After about ten minutes, they will be all set up except a thin film of runny eggs on top. At this point, turn on the broiler to low (or set the rack a bit away from the burner) and put the whole pan under for ONE MINUTE AT A TIME. (Check compulsively. Broilers are fickle. When the top is just set, pull it out, run a knife around the edge, slice and serve with salad. It comes right out of the pan. YUM. Eat the leftovers for breakfast.
