Frittata Florentine

A frittata is a simple, delicious and filling dish that's great to pull out for just about any meal. I use them for brunch, quick lunches, and sometimes even the 'breakfast for supper' thing that happens when I run out of day before the kiddos are fed.

Although frittatas are very similar to French omelettes, they have a couple of technique differences. Frittatas are stirred, and finished in the oven, where omelettes are folded and go straight to the plate. A frittata is closer to what we think of when we say quiche, but it's much less fussy and has no crust. It does share with omelettes and quiche that it can contain just about any ingredients you can think of - or it can happily go naked. Just eggs and butter. But - it's a lot more fun to say. Frittata. Frit. Ta. Ta.  Frittatatata... you try it.

• Four slices bacon, diced
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 ½ cups of fresh baby spinach – a couple of big handfuls
• 1 Tbl butter
• 8 eggs
• 2 Tbl cream
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
• Chopped fresh parsley, to garnish.

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a skillet with an ovenproof handle (cast iron is best) over medium heat, sauté bacon until crispy.
3. Once crispy, remove bacon to a paper towel to drain and set aside. Pour off almost all of the bacon grease, leaving just a teaspoon or two.
4. Add onions to the skillet, and sauté until tender and translucent, about five minutes. Scrape the bottom of the pan well to get up all the crispy bits.
5. In a medium mixing bowl, beat together the eggs and cream.  Season with salt and pepper. Go easy on the salt – the bacon and parmesan both are very salty.
6. Once the onions have gotten soft and fragrant, add in the spinach. It looks like a lot, but it cooks down a ton. Only give the spinach a minute or two – it will shrink like crazy, and continue cooking in the oven.
7. Pat spinach and onion down into an even layer in the bottom of the skillet. Sprinkle the cooked bacon over the top. Carefully pour in the egg mixture. You can stir if you want, or simply continue to cook for about five minutes, until the mixture is set around the edges.
8. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and set the pan in the hot oven for ten minutes. It should be mostly set at this point.
9. At the end of the baking time, turn the broiler on. Place frittata under the broiler, and broil until puffed and beautifully golden brown. Serve immediately.
10. You can serve it straight off the broiler, still in the pan if you wish. That’s my favorite for a family brunch or simple supper. Or you can invert the frittata onto a serving platter, so the fillings are on top and visible. Sprinkle with fresh parsley. Either way, simply run a knife blade around the edges to loosen them, and cut the frittata into wedges.