I would say I have had one of those weeks, except I would have to say 2 weeks. I think maybe it is motherhood. I am not by nature an immensely busy person–I like to stay in for the weekend, watching movies and drinking hot chocolate or watching movies and puttering in the garden. I am a homebody. But ever since Alex turned 4 I am just ridiculously busy.
Anyway, John was gone this past week, and while my mom was here to help, somehow or another I ended up not cooking. And she left Friday morning, so I had a playdate and then spent the remainder of the day just kind of putzing–until I suddenly realized it was 5 pm and I had not even considered dinner.
Oooops.
And this is why I love summer, because I could grab some zucchini (who doesn’t have zucchini right now?), purple basil from my garden, goat cheese, onions and eggs that I just have around anyway, and make a frittata to serve with blanched green beans from my mother’s garden on the side. Voilá!
Some of you may think this looks familiar–good call. Last summer, in similar straits, I made something similar, proving the basic idea is endlessly flexible.
Zucchini, Caramelized Onion, Goat Cheese & Basil Frittata
Recipe by Laura
2 small onions, thinly sliced
5 eggs, whisked with salt and pepper to taste
small handful, maybe 1/4 cup, of purple basil leaves (any basil should work)
1 slender grocery store sized zucchini, thinly sliced into rounds
small handful of crumbled goat cheese (to taste)
salt and pepper to taste
1 T olive oil plus 1 t butter
Heat a medium (10 inch) nonstick skillet over medium heat. When it is hot add the oil and butter. Then add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook until caramelized, stirring as needed to prevent scorching. This will take 10-25 minutes depending on how hot you want it (the less heat, the less babysitting but the longer it will take). Turn the heat up to medium high and add the zucchini with a pinch of salt. Stir fry until the zucchini is crisp tender and turning golden in spots.
Spread the onion/zucchini mixture out evenly across the pan. Turn the broiler on. Pour the whisked eggs over the zucchini/onion mixture. Crumble the goat cheese evenly over this and then sprinkle the basil leaves over that. Turn the heat down and cook until it is setting around the edges but still uncooked in the middle. Place it under the broiler and cook until the middle is set (watch carefully). Slide out of the pan, slice and serve with some greens green beans.
I've found myself in similar predicaments but you've come up with such a lovely dish on the fly! One of the things I'm most grateful as my cooking skills develop is the idea that there are basic recipes, like you say) that are flexible and can often save the day when I need to come up with something fast and delicious!
Although this recipe can use any kind of basil, those purple basil leaves add such color to this!
Looks delicious Laura! Today is going to be my first day in the kitchen in over a week now! Doing a lotta house cleaning too…must have it nice before we leave (and of course Chris better keep it nice while we are gone!).
What a beautiful lovely dish. That purple basil really is a stand out.
What a coincidence, I just sent my Dad's frittata recipe to the Family Recipes event!
Your version looks great!
This was perfect timing as we had just picked our first home-grown zucchini squash. I used red onion which I sauted in olive oil & smart balance. I also used a combo of our fresh sweet basil & purple basil. The purple basil is a good call because the green will discolor when heated anyway. I used 3 whole eggs + about 3.5oz of egg white. I'm sure this affected the fluffiness but was sooooo good. I felt it was a very healthy and tasty meal. My hubby said it was gourmet! 🙂 Thank you!
I am Alyssa's dad, Chuck, and I had to tell you how much I loved the cookies you sent home with Nick and Alyssa after the hog roast. I ate WAY too many of them and they were delicious!
This is just why I ♥ summer too Laura. That frittata looks good. Love the combination of flavours!
this is a great dish, laura, made even better by the fact that most of it came from the garden. the basil on top is a lovely touch. 🙂
perfect!
yummy frittata Laura…! We made some with mushrooms, pepper and zuchhini 2 weeks ago and turned out so nice for a lazy evening snack 😛 But, caramelised onion sounds very nice with it