A quick and easy meatless meal, this Kale Artichoke Vegetable Frittata is best served with a simple green salad and crusty bread.
It’s funny how warmer weather and a little bit of sun can start to affect your cravings. Enough of those hearty, comforting winter stews; It’s time for lighter meals! While I’m dying to use spring foods like asparagus and rhubarb and peas and radishes, in Indiana we still have a few weeks to wait for those ingredients. To help, a little “spring” seemed appropriate, and this Kale Artichoke Vegetable Frittata fitted right in. Something about a veggie frittata seemed appropriate for an early spring meal. It’s light and simple, easily converting into a full meal when served with a green salad and crusty bread.
Want a mini version? Try our vegetarian mini frittatas!
What is a frittata?
The Italian version of the omelet, the frittata, is extremely versatile. It can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner and served hot, warm or even cold. (Try it cold on a sandwich, you won’t regret it!). I was also surprised to learn that the potato tortillas I enjoyed it when I lived in Madrid, it’s really just a frittata with potatoes (who knew?).
The basic idea for a veggie frittata is to whisk eggs, add cooked veggies and cook slowly in a pan over low heat until firm. Our research found many different variations in ingredients and techniques, but after a little experimentation we were blown away by the result of our final product. We found it best to cook with a cast iron skillet on the stove and finish the top in the grill. You can also bake the frittata, but that takes a long time in the oven, which we didn’t have the patience for!
You can make a veggie frittata with any type or amount of cooked veggies, but we loved this combo of salted artichokes (canned for now!) and kale. In general, it’s important to add cooked veggies, since raw veggies tend to leach a lot of water into the frittata. This will prevent the frittata from getting really firm. Another key ingredient in our vegetarian frittata recipe was the Pecorino Romano cheese — it added just the right amount of flavor to the eggs without overwhelming the dish.
And don’t forget to use happy chicken eggs for this veggie frittata! We got ours at our local farmers market. There are many advantages to buying fresh eggs from the local farm.
Looking for more vegetarian breakfast recipes?
Aside from this veggie frittata, here are a few of our favorite veggie breakfast recipes:
This recipe is…
This vegetarian frittata recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free.
The description
A quick and easy meatless meal, this Kale Artichoke Vegetable Frittata is best served with a simple green salad and crusty bread.
- 1 small bunch of kale
- 14-oz can of artichokes
- ¾ cup Roman pecorino cheese
- 9 eggs
- 2 tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Ground fresh pepper
- wash kale; Drain the artichokes. Cut the kale and artichokes into small pieces, enough for 1 cup each. Grate the Pecorino Romano.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and kosher salt until well combined. Stir in the cheese, artichokes, and freshly ground pepper.
- Place a dry cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the kale and sprinkle with some salt. Sauté in ¼ cup water until tender, about 2 minutes. Remove the kale from the pan and add to the egg mixture.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add the olive oil and rotate the pan to coat. Pour in the egg and vegetable mixture and spread the vegetables out horizontally. If necessary, shake the pan to even out the eggs. Cook the frittata over low heat until the bottom is set but the top is still slightly runny, about 10 minutes.
- To finish the frittata, place the pan under a preheated broiler until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Let cool for at least 5 minutes, then transfer to a plate and slice to serve. (The frittata can also be served at room temperature or cold.)
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Cook
- Kitchen: Italian
Keywords: Kale Frittata, Artichoke and Kale Frittata, Vegetarian Frittata
