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My goal is to get dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less. I love feeding my family and cooking at home saves a lot of money. But I admit that I don’t necessarily love cooking, so I don’t want to spend any more time doing it than I must.
However, the challenge with cooking meals for my family is that sometimes I fall into a rut. We eat the same 6-10 meals in rotation most of the time. Sometimes we get bored and want to have something different. If I don’t plan something different, we’ll end up going out to eat, which will blow our food budget for the month.
Fortunately, this ham, brie and tomato frittata is just the right recipe for when you feel like adding some variety. It still has just six simple ingredients, so it won’t be too fussy or complicated to make. But it has several ingredients that probably aren’t in your regular meal rotation, so it will really switch things up.
If you’ve never had a frittata, it’s really an Italian version of an omelet, only firmer and flatter. Because it has other ingredients in it, it’s almost like a casserole. The varied flavors keep it interesting, with a different taste combination in every bite. It tastes more sophisticated than many recipes, but your kids will love to try it (especially if you tell them it’s like fancy scrambled eggs.)
Best of all, even though it has ingredients like Brie cheese and ham, it’s still an inexpensive recipe to make. Your dinner budget is saved and you still get some variety.
Green Tomato Frittata
Everyone is familiar with the taste of a fresh tomato. Red, ripe, and juicy, they’re one of the best treats of late summer when they’re in season. Fresh tomatoes are delicious however you serve them, whether on a bacon-lettuce-tomato sandwich or cut up into a crisp garden salad.
But what you may not be familiar with is the taste of a green tomato. A green tomato is not a specific variety of tomato; instead, it’s one that’s picked before it gets ripe. Green tomatoes have a taste that’s completely different from its ripe, red version. Tomatoes that are green are firm and more acidic.
Though green tomatoes are less tasty when eaten raw, the acidity mellows out when you cook them. The most common way to prepare them is as fried green tomatoes, a Southern specialty. But they can also go well in a frittata for a different way to prepare this dish.
You’ll want to prepare the tomato differently in this recipe if you use green tomatoes, however. The original recipe calls for you to add the tomatoes at the very end. But if you do that with green tomatoes, they won’t have the cooking time needed to make the flavor more mellow.
Add the tomatoes with the squash and butter if you use green tomatoes. The longer cook time will change the flavor and put an interesting twist on the recipe.
Cheese and Tomato Frittata
A cheese and tomato frittata is a classic flavor combination. But the great thing about a frittata is that you can put almost any variety of ingredients in it according to your tastes. You can customize it however you want—feel free to use your imagination!
There isn’t much that goes better with eggs than cheese. Though this recipe calls for Brie cheese, you can use any other cheese that you want. If you want to make it really fancy, you can use goat cheese. (Martha Stewart herself recommends a goat cheese and tomato frittata.)
You can also use more regular types of cheese too, like Colby or cheddar. The point is to just make sure you include gooey, melty cheese because that makes any dish instantly more appealing.
Don’t limit yourself to just regular tomatoes, either. Consider using grape, Roma, or plum tomatoes instead. Each has its own unique flavor which can slightly change the taste of the dish.
You can change this dish even more. Leave out the ham and it becomes a delicious and filling vegetarian meal. If you or your family aren’t fans of yellow squash, you can substitute zucchini or even mushrooms or asparagus instead. All would compliment the other flavors in the dish very well.
Because a frittata is so egg-heavy, you can either serve it for dinner or make it for a late breakfast or brunch on a weekend. This versatile, interesting meal is something you definitely try.
If you enjoyed this recipe, make sure to check out our Summertime Chicken and our Sweet and Saucy Chicken.
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Ham, Brie, and Tomato Frittata Recipe
- Total Time: 15 minutes
Description
Because a frittata is so egg-heavy, you can either serve it for dinner or make it for a late breakfast or brunch on a weekend. This versatile, interesting meal is something you definitely try.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 8 ounces cubed cooked ham
- 1 small yellow summer squash, chopped
- 6 eggs, lightly beaten
- Salt and black pepper
- ½ of an 8-ounce round Brie cheese, chopped
- 1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
Instructions
- Preheat broiler. In a large broiler-proof skillet melt butter over medium heat.
- Add ham and squash to butter; cook for 2 minutes.
- In a medium bowl combine eggs, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
- Add egg mixture to skillet; cook for 1 minute.
- Sprinkle with cheese and half of the tomato.
- As the mixture sets, run a spatula around edge of skillet, lifting egg mixture so uncooked portion flows underneath. Continue until egg mixture is almost set.
- Broil 4 to 5 inches away from heat about 1 minute or until top appears set. Sprinkle with remaining tomato. Cut into wedges.
- Prep Time: 5 Minutes
- Cook Time: 10 Minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Broiling
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: green tomato frittata, cheese and tomato frittata