As we were finishing up on Wednesday with the frittatas, one of the moms commented that spinach is about the only green thing that her mini-chef would NOT eat. She said it in a whisper. As most parents of toddlers and young children can identify with when they are talking about certain foods their child won’t eat, they do not want to jinx anything in hope that, one day, their kid will one day eat those foods. No more than a couple of minutes later, her kid was wolfing down this spinach frittata like no tomorrow and asking for seconds.
When sauteed, spinach is actually one of the mildest tasting greens and very palette-pleasing. It pairs with lots of other veggies and meats with ease. Check into your local farms to see whether spinach and other delicate greens are available in the cold months. In New York, for instance, we are able buy fresh spinach and other tasty greens throughout Winter because of local grower Satur Farms.
You can liberally add in the other things that your family loves: chopped parsley, chopped herbs, dried herbs, cooked meat, and any other vegetables that you think might go well with the spinach. You’ll have a really beautiful brunch dish or a simple supper for a week night when you do not have a lot of time to prep.
Spinach and Parmesan Frittata
*2 c. spinach, washed, spun dry and roughly chopped
*2 cloves garlic, minced
*1 T. olive oil
*6-7 eggs, organic if possible
*1/2 c. parmesan cheese, grated
*salt and pepper to taste
*1-2 T. butter
Wash and spin the spinach leaves dry with your Yummy.
Big Person: Roughly chop up the spinach. You can either steam the spinach until just tender or blanch it (boil it in a bit of salted water for about one minute). Then put it in a colander and let it drain for a few minutes.
In a 10 or 12-inch skillet, warm your olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for a few seconds. Then, add the spinach and cook until the flavors meld, a minute or two. Remove the spinach from the pan and set it aside to cool for a few minutes while you mix up the rest of the frittata.
Together: Have your mini-chef crack all the eggs into a large bowl. Fish out the shells that might not taste that delicious in your frittata. Once you’ve gotten out all of the crunchy bits, add the cheese, the salt and pepper, and the cooled spinach. Your mini-chef will enjoy whisking this and whisking this and probably whisking this some more (in class, we whisked for several minutes).
Big Person: In the same skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and use a basting brush or a rubber spatula to coat the bottom and the sides of the pan. Pour in the frittata. Cook for 10 minutes, or until set.
Meanwhile, turn on your broiler to high. When your frittata has set up on the stovetop, transfer it to the oven. You can turn on your oven light so that your mini-chef can check the progress and watch the top of the frittata turn golden brown.
Take the frittata out of the oven (with your Yummy nowhere near the oven!). Use a rubber spatula to loosen the frittata from the sides and bottom of the pan. Enjoy!
