herbed zucchini and bread Frittata
Have I mentioned how much I love Ottolenghi cookbooks? His recipes opened up a whole new world of flavor in my kitchen. He is so creative with flavors and food combinations. I’ve never been disappointed with an Ottolenghi recipe I’ve tried, and there are some that we return to again and again.
This recipe here is inspired by one from his newest cookbook Simple. It is simple. It’s also really delicious and makes a substantial meatless dish. The original recipe calls for ciabatta but I only had a loaf of sourdough so I used that. I made it a little more herby, too. I would maybe add some ham or bacon in a future version but it certainly doesn’t need it. It was puffy and light with delightful crusty cheesy baked edges. Mmmm. Serve it with a salad and you've got yourself a perfect weekday meal.
zucchini and sourdough frittata
about 6 servings
Ingredients
1 pound loaf of a hearty bread like sourdough or ciabatta, crusts cut off and cut or torn into large chunks
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup heavy cream
6 eggs
2 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed, and chopped roughly
3 ounces grated Parmesan, separated
2 medium zucchini, coarsely grated
3 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup chopped parsley or 1 tsp dried
1/4 cup chopped basil or 1 tsp dried
salt and pepper
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x9 pan (or a smaller casserole dish of similar volume).
Combine milk and cream and pour over bread, pressing down to help the bread soak up the liquid. Let sit for 30 minutes or until the bread has absorbed most of the liquid.
Whisk the eggs together until well blended Add garlic, 2/3 of the Parmesan, 3/4 tsp salt and a couple turns of the pepper mill and whisk to combine. Add to the bread mixture and fold gently to combine. Then add the zucchini, green onions, basil and parsley and fold to combine. (Full disclosure, I find it much easier to just use my hands for stuff like this.)
Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes, sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 of Parmesan, and bake another 20 minutes or so, or until the fritatta is puffed and golden brown and a knife comes out clean.