Rev: Zucchini-Ricotta Frittata with Warm Tomato Garnish (EW)

[veschke]

This is my first Eating Well recipe (just subscribed) and it was a wonderfully summery, easy to make dish. Would be great to serve to company. My zucchini-averse husband approved of the fact that the zucchini doesn't dominate.

Since there's just two of us (our toddler did try a taste, but didn't seem to like it), I scaled back the recipe a bit; two zucchini, six eggs (though I don't do just whites). Fresh marjoram wasn't at the market, so I resorted to dried.

1 1/2 pounds zucchini, coarsely grated
1 1/8 tsp salt, divided
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
4 large eggs
4 large egg whites
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 c of Parmesan or Monterey Jack cheese
1 Tbsp chopped fresh marjoram
2/3 c part-skim ricotta cheese

2 1/2 c chopped tomato (we had grape tomatoes, I quartered them)
1 medium shallot, minced
1 small clove garlic, minced
2 tsp chopped fresh marjoram
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

My condensed instructions:

1. Toss zucchini with 1 tsp salt in a medium bowl; put in colander to drain for 20-30 minutes. Rinse briefly and squeeze dry.
2. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over in a large non-stick skillet over M-H heat. Add zucchini and cook, stirring frequently, until water evaporates (5-6 min). Remove to bowl, wipe pan clean.
3. Preheat broiler.
4. Whisk eggs with salt and pepper in a large bowl. Stir in zucchini, cheese, marjoram. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in the non-stick pan over M-H heat. Add egg mixture and reduce heat to M-L. Dollop ricotta over the top. Cook until eggs are set on bottom, top still wet (5-7 min). Transfer to broiler and broil until done (3-5 min).

For tomato garnish: Toss all ingredients together. Cook in a skillet for a couple of minutes, until warm and releasing juices.

[mkc]

I made this as well and also have a zucchini-phobic husband (except for zucchini bread). He had 2 servings!

I used dried majoram as well (1/3 of the fresh amount called for) and it came out great.

This is a definite make-again for us!

From the same issue, we loved the Labor Day Spaghetti and I have made the Thai Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut sauce twice, doubling the batch the second time and using the leftovers to make a cold noodle salad (I added a little sesame oil, low-sodium soy, and rice wine vinegar to help thin the peanut sauce to coat the noodles).

Michelle

[veschke]

Four years later, hubby still rates this "awesome."

[erin elizabeth]

Thanks for bringing this back up. It sounds really good and soon I'll have both zucchini and tomatoes to use up!

[SusanMac]

Thx for posting. I've found that shredded zucchini is popular with DH than big chunks.

I've never put ricotta in a fritatta before, but it sounds great! Will definitely try this one

[hlao23]

Ooohh...dinner tomorrow night! Thanks :)

[mkc]

Oh my - here I am wondering what to make to get DH to eat the zucchini I bought, and y'all bump this topic.

Note that 4 years ago I called this a definite make-again :o

Guess who completely forgot about it and never did "make again"?

Guess what we had for dinner? ;)

Guess whose DH confirmed he really liked it :D

Michelle

P.S. Somebody remember to bump this again in 2013....:p

[sugaree]

We had this for dinner last night and really liked it - a nice light summer meal. We have fresh marjoram in our garden, so I used that, which lent a very nice taste to both the frittata and the sauce. I had to sub green onion for the shallot, but other than that, made it as written. A definite repeater for us, assuming I remember!

[funniegrrl]

This looks good! Two questions:

If one doesn't have marjoram and one doesn't want to buy marjoram, what would be an adequate sub? I have a Penzey's Italian herb blend, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary. My instinct is to use the blend or the thyme, but I'm not that familiar with marjoram.

Second, anyone have the number of servings and nutrition info on this?

[SusanMac]

I think any of those herbs would taste fantastic. You don't need to mimic marjoram. This recipe would work with any of those flavors

[sugaree]

I think any of those herbs would taste fantastic. You don't need to mimic marjoram. This recipe would work with any of those flavors

I agree, but I personally would go with oregano as the closest.

[Valerie226]

Made this for dinner last night and enjoyed it. nice way to use a good handful of zucchini in a way they're not obvious. I like zucchini but overdid it last year and am not totally recovered. I made it as directed but I'm not sure what the ricotta cheese added to it. I think I'd skip that next time. expecially nice because it cooked quickly and without turning the oven on... the broil part was done in about a minute so didn't heat up things.

[hlao23]

Made it this weekend and LOVED it. Thanks for posting it!

We subbed part of a yellow onion for the shallots and cottage cheese for the ricotta (that's just what we had in the house).

ETA: Our 15-month-old ate his entire portion of it. :)

[tholbrook]

I made this last night and we agreed that it was excellent.

My [minor] changes: 3 eggs + 3 egg whites, 2 ounces each of Parmesan and Monterey Jack, fresh basil and dried marjoram in the frittata, and fresh oregano in the tomato topping. I also just poured it into a shallow pie pan and baked it (I did cook the zucchini first).

Personally, I loved the addition of the ricotta cheese on top because it kept the eggs from being the dominant texture and flavor. I do make frittatas from time to time, and while they're okay, I feel like I'm biting into a giant omelet - and I don't care much for the flavor of eggs (I generally don't eat them unless they are a "supporting" ingredient, rather than the focus). This frittata, however, had a nice balance of flavors and textures, and I would make it again.

[Kate B]

Wow - how timely! I have ricotta and zucchini to use and just a bit of a garlic MJ cheese. AND a friend at work gave me eggs from his kids' chickens this morning. I think it's fate....

My thanks for bumping it up, too!

Kate

[funniegrrl]

Bumping up to say I tried this one, and it was better than I expected! I added some cooked potato to make it a little heartier (and avoid having to cook a separate starch) and it was very good. I posted that and some other notes on my blog, along with a picture (link in sig). I finally found my long-lost digital camera, and this was so attractive when it came out of the oven I felt moved to take a picture -- my first attempt at photographing something I'd cooked for blogging purposes. One small step for man ...

[erin elizabeth]

Bumping this as I finally got around to making it two years later! That's the joy of this BB. Plus, doesn't everyone have zucchini and tomatoes to use up right about now? :) I made a half recipe, used fresh basil instead of marjoram, and did not heat my tomato garnish. I am not a huge fan of frittatas, but this hit the spot. Very yummy and quick to make. While the zucchini drained, I made the tomato garnish.

[funniegrrl]

This has remained a favorite recipe. In fact, got some zucchini this week with plans to make it. I've also made the tomato thing to go with lots of other dishes.