Review: Florentine Frittata - April 2001

[Jeanne G]

This was EXCELLENT! Just thought I'd let anyone know who is considering it. I even had extra time last night and made it, and then just heated it up this morning! Yum, I will definitely make this again! I did sub roma tomatoes for the roasted bell peppers, b/c I had them on hand and didn't want to open my large jar of roasted peppers.

[Tiger]

This was easy to make, looked pretty, and was a easy clean up. Great for a no meat dinner.
At first my husband turned his nose up, but actually did like it.
I didn't use egg-beaters, just egg whites (cheaper). I like the taste of feta. But it's not spicey, so if you're looking for a kick you might want to add some.

[karen4191]

Just made this too, my first ever Cooking Light recipe, this one is a keeper. I couldn't believe it was so low in fat and calories. Vlasic has roasted red peppers, but I think you could use mushrooms or anything really. Karen

[phantomcg]

I made this dish for dinner on Monday. I added some mushrooms to it. I really like this dish and the leftovers made really good lunches.

Cheryl

[BeckyM]

This was on my list to try -- now I'll move it to a higher priority! It's exciting to hear that people enjoyed it so much. It sure sounded good in the magazine, but I like hearing people's opinions too!

[Peggy]

I made this today and it was very good. I did have a difficult time getting the egg mixture to set. I cooked it for about 15 minutes (the recipe said 7!) and the eggs still hadn't set. Finally I stuck it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes and it cooked. I then added the feta and broiled it. Delicious!

Peggy

[comabri]

I made this last night and loved it. I loved the contrast of the spinach and roasted peppers. One snafu - I turned the broiler on but forgot to set the temp to "broil" - it was set at 350 degrees. I stood there and was wondering why the feta wasn't browning on top for at least 10 minutes until I realized what I had done. So it probably sat in the oven 10-15 minutes longer than it was supposed to. But it was still delicious. Of course,m how could you go wrong with spinach, potatoes, eggs, and cheese!

[misstapioca]

I thought this recipe was great! i had everything on hand except the egg beaters! It was very simple and yummy. It makes 4 generous servings!

[Angela]

It did have a very nice flavor. I'm not a big fan of spinach, so I would use less and add more potatoes. Over all it was good.

[Maggie]

I made this Friday night and DH and I loved it! He was a little apprehensive at first (he's not a big spinach fan) but ended up having seconds and then eating the leftovers for lunch the next day.

This one is certainly a keeper for us!

[BeckyM]

I did make this, but I didn't have potatoes on hand, so I just made it without. It still turned out really well, and my husband liked it too.

I did have the same problem someone else mentioned -- my eggs took forever to set up. I think the bottom got a bit burned because of that. I was wondering if leaving out the potatoes had anything to do with it, but maybe not.

I'm planning to buy potatoes and try this again sometime. Yum!

Oh -- I also added mushrooms to mine. That's a standard practice for me, so I often forget to mention it. I just LOVE mushrooms!

[SusanL]

We also loved it last night! I added garlic and a pinch of cayenne, which I think was the kick it needed. A definite keeper!! I would have skipped on this one, but thanks to the BB, I am glad I didn't!

[valchemist]

I made this for dinner last night and used the ingredients as written. It tasted great.

I had a difficult time getting the eggs to set, as did Peggy. I did something similar to what she did...I put the pan in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes and then broiled it with the feta on for about 3 minutes.

It worked okay but the bottom of the frittata burned. And since I didn't use a nonstick skillet (don't have one that is oven-safe) it was a mess to clean. But the frittata tasted great (the burnt part stuck to the pan anyway so we didn't eat it).

Valerie

[patsyk]

A question about this one... the recipe says to make it in a cast iron skillet which can be placed in an oven... I don't have one and I only have T-fal cookware which I don't think can go in the oven (due to the plastic handles)... any suggestions on how to do this w/o using the cast iron skillet?

How did the rest of you make it?

[Ohioan]

patsyk - A trick I use in making frittatas when I have to use a skillet that can't go into the oven is to slip the frittata into a pie pan once the bottom is done, and then put the pie pan into the oven. For bigger frittatas, I suppose I could even use a cookie sheet, but I've never tried it.

Some people suggest wrapping skillet handles in foil to keep them safe in the oven, but I've never felt completely secure with this solution -- and besides, with some skillets, the problem is as much with the metal surface as with the handles.

Cheers,
Phoebe

[KarenB]

I can't believe this is so popular. I made it last night and couldn't finish one serving because it was so bad. DH covered it with salt to make it palatable. I checked to make sure I followed the recipe corretly because everyone had such good things to say about it. Definitely not a repeater!

[Terrytx]

We loved it!!

[Grace]

I have to add to this thread. I've made this frittata 3 TIMES now! I love it so much.

The first time I made it, I made it without the red peppers (didn't have any on hand), and used the exact quantities of spices called for. It was really good (enough for me to want to make again), but it was a little "blah". The next time I made it, I had the red peppers, and upped the spices, and it was GREAT. But I still thought it needed a little something else, so I made it again for lunch, and I tried cooking the sweet onions slowly, so they would caramelize a little, and added some GARLIC to them, still cooking on low. Then I added the potatoes, etc. To get the top to set faster, I just covered the pan after I dumped in the egg/spinach mixture. This worked beautifully. As the steam rose, it stayed in the pan and "cooked" the top. I also used just a regular non-stick 10-inch pan (with a plastic handle), and wrapped the handle in foil, and broiled it as directed. No damage to my pan whatsoever, and the feta cheese got a nice golden brown. So for all of you who are worried, don't be. It won't ruin your pan (I did it 3x now, and I'll probably do it 300 more!).

The thing I loved best, though is the generous portion for so few calories. I'm trying to take off the 10 I gained over the winter (sitting around on my butt!), but my appetite hasn't decreased at all, so this one fits the bill beautifully, and has SO much flavor!! I give it a 10.


[This message has been edited by Grace (edited 04-23-2001).]

[Tally]

Adding my thumbs-up to this recipe - the only change I made was to substitute a mixture of shredded mozzarella and provolone cheese as I didnt' have any feta on hand.

This is a versatile dish that's great for Sunday brunch or as a side dish with sauteed sausage, peppers and onions.

As Grace pointed out, this makes a generous serving size for the amount of calories.

[KValley]

I'm dredging up this golden oldie to give it a big thumbs up! It's been on my "To Make" list for ages- finally got around to it as I wait rather impatiently for the new CL!

I love frittatas and this one is going onto the absolute repeaters list.

Few changes to the original:

-I roasted a combination of red and green peppers
-Used sharp cheddar instead of feta
-Used 5 eggs whites and 3 whole eggs instead of egg subsitute
-I stirred in leftover WW Red Pepper Tomato Soup, which was like adding a thin salsa, into the spinach/egg mixture
-used non-stick pan, wrapping handle in foil to broil

It was great for a lighter dinner last night (big vegetable salad; DH had leftover Mexican Ham/Bean Soup) and even better for lunch today!

[SuzyQue]

I was wondering if someone could post this recipe? I'd like to make it for tomorrow morning. My CL mag's don't go that far back and I couldn't find it in the recipe finder. Thank you!!!

[SusanL]

From April 2001...

Florentine Frittata

INGREDIENTS FOR 4 SERVINGS:
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (16-ounce) carton egg substitute
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and
squeezed dry
2 teaspoons butter
2 cups thinly sliced Vidalia or other sweet onion
2 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
1 (7-ounce) bottle roasted red bell peppers, drained and sliced
3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:
Frozen hash browns are great to have on hand and pair well with the
feta cheese and spinach. For a new twist next time, try a combination
of broccoli and sharp cheddar or Swiss cheese.

1. Combine the first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl; set aside.

2. Melt butter in a 10-inch cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium
heat. Add onion; saute 5 minutes. Add potatoes; cook 9 minutes or
until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Pour egg mixture over
onion mixture. Arrange bell pepper slices on top of frittata. Cook 7
minutes or until set. Sprinkle with cheese. Wrap handle of pan with
foil.

3. Preheat broiler.

4. Broil 5 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned. Cut into 4
wedges. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 wedge).

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
CALORIES 265 (26% from fat); FAT 7.6g (sat 4.6g, mono 1.6g, poly
0.7g); PROTEIN 19.6g; CARB 31.3g; FIBER 5.7g; CHOL 24mg; IRON 5.1mg;
SODIUM 800mg; CALC 251mg

[SuzyQue]

Thank you SusanL!

[SusanL]

forgot how good it was!

[lisas3575]

Just wanted to add my positive review! I found this recipe thanks to another post by KValley, so thank you Julie.

I had the same problem with getting it to set up, so I wish I'd found this thread before I made it. I added some garlic and used real eggs, but otherwise followed the recipe.