Do you ever look in the fridge and realize that there are a bunch of eggs in there that need to eaten, but you’re just not sure what to cook them with? When I buy eggs for a baking project, I’m often left with a good number of them that need a recipe. We are not big egg-eaters in the morning, so when I found a recipe for a “smokey frittata” in one of my favorite cookbooks (Plenty), I got pretty excited. Not only would it take care of our remaining eggs, it would make good use of the member of the Brassica genus that was also in our fridge and in need of eating. Can you guess what it was?
Cauliflower! A quick fun fact about cauliflower and other members of the brassica genus (like brussel sprouts, cabbage, and kale): eating lots of them (in particular broccoli and cauliflower) has been associated with lower risks of prostate cancer and other types of cancer.
Another benefit of this recipe is its use of smoked mozzarella cheese and smoked paprika – we love smokey flavors, so naturally we are big fans of both of these ingredients. So this recipe is pretty amazing because it combines some great tastes with some ingredients that often need a tasty home! While it packs a punch of cholesterol so you don’t want to have it too often, it’s a great and filling vegetarian entrée to serve any night of the week!
Smokey Frittata with Cauliflower
Adapted from Plenty
- 1 small cauliflower, cut into to small florets
- 6 eggs
- 3 tablespoons almond milk (or another kind of milk)
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 3 green onions, finely chopped
- 7 ounces smoked mozzarella, grated
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Boil cauliflower in a large pot of salted water for 4-5 minutes or until tender crisp. Drain and set aside.
Pre-heat oven to 370°. In a large bowl whisk together eggs, almond milk, mustard, and smoked paprika, making sure all is well-mixed. Stir in the green onions and ¾ of smoked mozzarella and season with salt and pepper.
Heat the olive oil in a large oven-proof frying pan. Add cauliflower and cook for five minutes or until it starts to turn golden-brown. Pour egg mixture evenly over the cauliflower. Cook on the stove for about five minutes. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the egg and cauliflower mixture.
Transfer the pan into the oven, bake for 10-12 minutes or until the frittata is set. Remove from the oven and let rest for 2-3 minutes before serving
Serves 4-6.
Tasty Easy Healthy Green Recipe Ratings:
| Recipe Report Card | Notes About Recipe Ratings |
|
Tasty Rating Four Chefs (Delicious!) |
Double the smokiness (with both smoked paprika and mozzarella), double the taste! |
|
Easy Rating
Four Easy Chairs (“ABC, Easy as 123…”!) |
While it involves a couple of steps, they are pretty straightforward and don’t take a huge amount of time. |
|
Healthy Rating
Three Apples (Average Nutritional Quality) |
As long as you don’t gorge on this tasty entrée and be sure combine it with some over vegetables, this can be a relatively healthy meal – you get protein from both the eggs and the cheese, and cauliflower benefits as well. |
|
Green Rating
Three Leaves (Average Environmental Friendliness) |
The eggs were local and cage-free, the cauliflower was organic, while the other ingredients were less green. |
I love cauliflower in omelettes! Your frittata looks delicious!
I am hungry just looking at that frittata! Nice use of cauliflowers.
Fritatas are so tasty and versatile! I’m going to be making one later this week! Yours looks tasty!
I’m not a big fan of cauliflower but I have eaten enough of it to know that the smokey flavors you added to this frittata are perfect for it! I AM a big fan of frittatas, quiches, and anything eggs so this is a perfectly healthy brunch for this household. Beautiful pictures as always! Nice little salad you have to go with the frittata.
Cauliflower was one of the things I hated as a child. Now I simply love it! This frittata looks delicious!
Sounds amazing! Very satisfying :), Miriam@Meatless Meals For Meat Eaters
I love your focus and tasty and easy recipes. The smoked mozzarella would really take it over the top!
I just posted about the anti-cancer properties of brassicas as well! Go cauliflower!
I am loving all the smokiness in this. Smoked mozz and smoked paprika are two of my favorite things!
interesting that you used cauliflower instead of the expected potatoes. it looks great: would be excellent for a potluck too.
I love the simplicity of this dish…and yet so tasty. Smoke paprika sure adds a lot of flavor to this frittata.
Hope you have a wonderful week ahead Sally
Made this twice in the last couple of weeks. Great both times. Easy to make and a great smoky taste; we love to find new recipes for our large jar of smoked paprika. Renee and I love it. One comment: The type of smoked mozzarella we got was a bit too smoky for us, I guess, so the second time I used half smoked mozza and half cheddar. We liked this combo better.
Glad you liked the frittata! The original recipe actually calls for about 3/4 smoked mozzarella and 1/4 cheddar. I didn’t have cheddar when I made it, so I used all mozzarella–I do like it with cheddar though.
Yes! Frittata is my go-to meal for breakfast. It’s a great way to use up leftover vegetables. It’s amazing how the flavor of the ingredients rise out of the dish upon baking in the oven. I’ve found that one of the secrets is to vary the cheese topping and only use one ounce for every two people to keep it on the healthy side. To make the eggs fluffy, use one whole egg and one egg white plus a tablespoon of water per person. Using milk gives it a more “scrambled egg” taste.