We are approaching the fourth week of staying at home. The only social interactions I’ve had with family, friends, and the outside world are through video chat. While I miss seeing friends, holidays gatherings, and checking out the festivities Ohio has to offer around this time of the year, I have definitely appreciated the quality time at home. Kevin and I both work full days, so we don’t often see one another a lot during the week. These few weeks have allowed us to spend more time at home enjoying one another’s company. Recently, outside of teleworking, I’ve found myself watching countless hours of television shows and YouTube videos. I’ve even found myself trying some of the trendiest recipes the web has to offer. One such trendy recipe is Dalgona coffee. It’s made with instant coffee whipped together with some sugar and water to create a foamy whipped coffee. The whipped coffee is layered on top of some milk. I’m usually not the biggest coffee drinker, but the allure of the foamy drink was too strong for me to not give it a try. Earlier this week, I set my alarm to wake me up ½ an hour earlier than my usual time just so I can make myself (and Kevin) some Dalgona coffee. The Dalgona coffee was super easy to prepare and was the perfect morning drink to sip on while checking work emails. I loved the smoothness of the coffee and ended up making a cup every day for three days in a row. When Saturday rolled around, I couldn’t help myself and made another cup. This time, I added some peppermint extract, chocolate syrup, and served the foamy whipped coffee on top of some almond milk. It was just yum! While I can drink the coffee nonstop, I couldn’t just have coffee for breakfast. I paired my coffee with an easy brunch filled with some leftover focaccia, fresh fruit, and a ham, gruyere, and green peas frittata. Frittata is one of those dishes where I can start with a blank canvass and just build on layers of flavors using mostly pantry and leftover ingredients. I had some leftover bits of fully cooked ham sitting in the freezer (after making some ham and gruyère pizza pockets earlier in the week) and paired it with some sweet frozen green peas, another ingredient I have handy in my freezer at all times (usually to mix into fried rice, stews, and soups). The ham and green peas are combined with gruyère cheese for the ultimate frittata. I only had about 2-3 ounces of gruyère cheese left in the refrigerator, so I chopped up the cheese into small pieces and tossed it into the frittata for a salty, savory, cheesy bite. The combination of smokiness and sweetness from the ham, paired with the funky, savory cheese, and bright, sweet green peas made for a truly flavorful frittata. The frittata starts out on the stove and is then transferred into the oven to finish cooking. As the frittata is cooking away in the oven, I cut up some fresh navel and blood oranges and layered them on a plate. For me, a meal is not complete unless I have some carbs. Here’s where my leftover focaccia with rainbow tomatoes and dried oregano made its way to the table as the carb element of my brunch. Once the frittata was done in the oven, I was able to slide it off the skillet onto a plate, and serve it alongside the focaccia, fruit, and foamy coffee. The perfect, light brunch was complete and ready to be devoured by Kevin and I.
For the ham, gruyère, and green peas frittata:
· 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
· 5 large eggs
· ½ cup whole milk
· 2-3 ounces of cooked, chopped ham
· ½ cup frozen green peas
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· 2-3 ounces gruyère cheese, cut into pieces
· ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F. As the oven is preheating, heat a skillet on medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, add a tablespoon of butter.
2) In a glass cup or bowl, whisk together the eggs and whole milk. Set aside.
3) Once the butter has melted in the skillet, add the chopped ham. Cook the ham for about a minute until the pieces of ham begins to brown. Add in the green peas. Cook for another minute. Sprinkle in the kosher salt. Pour in the whisked eggs and whole milk. Stir slightly to evenly distribute the ingredients. Slowly drop in the pieces of cheese all over the skillet. Sprinkle in the freshly cracked black pepper. Let the frittata cook for about 3 minutes until the bottoms begin to set.
4) Transfer the skillet with the frittata into the oven and let it cook in the oven for another 20 minutes. Carefully remove the skillet from the oven. Let the frittata rest in the skillet for about ten more minutes before sliding it off the skillet onto a plate. Serve as is or with your favorite hot sauce.
Takeaways: A frittata is the perfect blank canvass to use up leftover ingredients in your refrigerator. You can swap out the ham with some crispy, cooked bacon. You can also add in chopped asparagus or green beans in addition or in place of the green beans. The gruyère cheese can be combined with Parmigiano Reggiano or replaced completely. Feel free to mix and match the ingredients to create the ultimate frittata. You can even add some pie crust and transform the frittata into a quiche.
