I was intrigued by a couple of pretty frittatas baked in bundt pans that I saw in the blogosphere over the last couple weeks (here and here, for example…) I love frittatas, and yes, they are a seriously fast food to throw together. But here’s where my usual problem comes into play. Inevitably, as I’m at the crucial point where I have to keep the egg curd moving and lifting and the uncooked egg flowing around and under the edges one of the following things happens:
- Someone screams.
- Someone bleeds from the head.
- Someone knocks on the door.
- Someone needs their bum wiped. (I’m sorry if that grossed you out, but really, that’s life for me with five children, one of whom is potty training.)
- All of the above.
Yes. They have all happened simultaneously at the most inconvenient times. Although, quite frankly, I can’t think of a good time to have one child bleeding from the head, another screaming, one sitting on the toilet while someone is door-to-dooring for whatever nefarious or enlightened purpose… Added to that I’m usually caught mucking around the house in my flannel jammies or with a piece of tissue stuffed in my nose to stop the drips. I guess all those together are troublesome enough without introducing a skittery frittata to the mix.
In short, right when I’m supposed to be paying the most attention I am forced away from the pan. And that makes frittatas not so convenient. At least, that’s what makes frittatas cooked in the conventional way inconvenient. The chickens are laying beaucoup eggs right now and frittatas are a great way to use them up, though. So when I saw these little bundt pan beauties I knew I had to try them.
And because, as I’ve mentioned before, two out of my five children would willingly go on a hunger strike rather than eat a recognizable vegetable, I engaged in some culinary subterfuge. The frittata itself was meat (if you can call pepperoni real meat), cheese (mozzarella) and herbs (finely minced herbs, of course… microscopically minced herbs, if you must know) and “NO VEGETABLES, MOM!” I used ‘pizza herbs’; basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsley. Essentially, I made a non-veggie lover’s pizza frittata. The sauce is where I got my digs in. I sauteed carrots, onions, and celery (the Holy Trinity of French cooking. Amen.) with a can of diced tomatoes and anchovy paste and pureed them into smoooooooooth spaghetti sauce. And when I say smooooooooooooooth I mean smooth like Ex-Lax. (Again with the potty mouth. My apologies if I’m putting you off your food.)
Isn't it gorgeous? It almost looked too pretty to eat. But eat it we did.
It was some seriously good stuff folks. It was good enough to make three times in one week. And again last night to serve to company. The beauty of this recipe is not just confined to it’s hands-off convenience. It is also almost infinitely adjustable. If you follow the basic egg/flour/milk ratio you can substitute any flavors. Are you sensing a theme with me? Calzones, Eggs-In-Baskets, Quinoa Salads, Bread: Fully Loaded!, etc… I love recipes that are more formulas with interchangeable parts than hard-and-fast-do-it-this-way recipes. It allows me to be both more creative and less wasteful with my family’s food resources. And because it’s wonderful hot, cold, or anywhere in between, it makes a great high-protein snack for anyone who needs one. I was going to say ‘for the kiddos’, but I need a high-protein snack as often as they do. That makes grown-up, healthy snacking easier, too. Don’t you just love it when things make your life easier?
For a photo-free, printer friendly version of this recipe, click here!
Baked Pizza Frittata
Ingredients:
- 12 large eggs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
- 15-20 slices of thin pepperoni
- 2 cups shredded or finely diced mozzarella cheese
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon dried mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Fresh ground black pepper to taste
- Marinara sauce, for serving
Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously grease a bundt pan with oil or butter. Evenly distribute the pepperoni slices across the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
Don't get the slide-rule out for this. We're not tracking the space station. Just distribute them kind-of evenly.
Crack all eggs into a large mixing bowl (preferably one with a pouring spout) and whisk lightly. You don’t need to have everything perfectly even, but you should have the yolks broken up and partially mixed into the whites. Set aside.
Sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Whisk the milk into the flour mixture until smooth. Add the flour/milk mixture to the eggs along with the Italian seasonings, basil, oregano, mustard, salt and pepper and whisk until smooth. Stir in the cheese.
Pour the egg mixture over the pepperoni.
It doesn’t matter one way or the other if the pepperoni comes up from the bottom of the pan, so don’t sweat it if it does. Jjust try to keep it evenly distributed through the egg mixture.
Place bundt pan on the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until nicely browned and the frittata springs back when pressed gently. Remove from oven and allow to cool five minutes before turning out onto a cutting board.
Slice into thick wedges and serve with marinara sauce.
This is fantastic, hot, cold or anywhere in between.
