wild mushroom, zucchini, and goat cheese frittata (and a giveaway!)

Wild Mushroom, Zucchini, and Goat Cheese Frittata

I woke up this morning with a mission: make a frittata. Even though I’ve eaten many a frittata ordered at a restaurant, I’ve never actually made one at home before. And what with all the cookies, holiday parties (you’d think those would be over by now, but my office just got around to our party last Thursday…), and even more cookies lately, I wanted the frittata to be a little on the healthier side. And even though I’ve never made a frittata before, I know enough to know that they’re well loved by cooks as a way to get use up what they’ve got in the fridge, so I figured I could merge a couple of recipes to get what I wanted.

Wild Mushrooms

Lemon, Parsley, and Zucchini

So, that thing I just said about cooks using frittatas to get rid of what’s in their fridge? Yeah, well not us. We did a pretty good job of clearing out the fridge on our own last week, so we had to go to the store first. Luckily this frittata comes together pretty easily and quickly, thanks to a fantastic tip from America’s Test Kitchen. (Yes, here I go again spouting off the wonders of America’s Test Kitchen.) They start the frittata on the stovetop and then throw it in the broiler for just 3-4 minutes. It then sets at room temp for another 1-3 minutes and it’s ready to go. Better than the 15-20 minutes in the oven that other recipes call for, right? And not only is it quicker, but according to America’s Test Kitchen, it yields a perfectly puffed, golden brown frittata. Our frittata certainly lived up to their claim, so no argument here, especially since it means I got to dig in sooner!

OXO beater in action

The America’s Test Kitchen recipe called for mushrooms and asparagus, but since it’s going to be another couple of months till asparagus is truly in season, we decided to go with zucchini, which, while also not really in season, is more available than asparagus right now. I stumbled onto the blog A Spicy Perspective (great name, no?) and fell in love with her wild mushroom and zucchini frittata (with a touch of truffle oil!!) and ended up merging her recipe with a lightened up version from America’s Test Kitchen.

Wild Mushroom, Zucchini, and Goat Cheese Frittata

Wild Mushroom, Zucchini, and Goat Cheese Frittata

Not only was I excited to finally try my hand at making a frittata, but I had a brand new tool that I was very, very excited to use. When I was a kid, my favorite gadget in the kitchen was my mom’s rotary egg beater. I thought it was just about the coolest thing ever and I used it whenever I could. When I graduated from college and moved into an apartment with friends, I got my very own hand-me-down handheld egg beater. I can’t actually remember where or who I got it from, but the very first time I used it, it literally fell into pieces into my batter. I never got a replacement and I was thrilled when I saw that OXO has come out with a brand new, completely modernized egg beater. I was downright ecstatic when they sent me one to test out!

Wild Mushroom, Zucchini, and Goat Cheese Frittata

The OXO egg beater is simply awesome. Like the original rotary beater, it doesn’t require electricity and beats your eggs, whipped cream, batter, etc. with a simple hand crank. The new one from OXO works smoothly and effortlessly, the beaters are elevated with a piece on the bottom so you can rest it on the bottom of the bowl and keep on beating away, and the beaters separate easily from the handle so you can throw them right into the dishwasher when you’re done. It worked fantastically on the eggs, cheese, milk, and parsley for the frittata and I can’t wait to try it out on whipping cream and this french toast casserole.

Want to try the egg beater out and see for yourself? One lucky Pixelated Crumb reader will win an OXO egg beater, courtesy of OXO!

Giveaway Details

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Cristina for winning the OXO Egg Beater giveaway and thanks to everyone who participated!!

This giveaway is open to USA residents and will be open until Monday, January  23rd at 11:59 pm ET.The winner will be selected on random.org on January 24th. The winner will be announced on Pixelated Crumb and I will send her/him an e-mail. Make sure your e-mail is correct, because you only have 48 hours to respond to claim your prize before another winner is chosen!

To enter the OXO Egg Beater Giveaway:

Write a comment below telling me what you would make with an OXO egg beater.

For Additional Entries 

For more chances to win, complete one or more of the following steps and write a comment below for each extra entry (e.g. “I follow @pixelatedcrumb on Twitter”). If you already do any of the following, just leave a comment letting me know. You get an extra chance to win with each entry!

  • Follow @pixelatedcrumb on Twitter
  • Tweet about the giveaway (be sure to include @pixelatedcrumb)
  • “Like” Pixelated Crumb on Facebook
  • Subscribe to Pixelated Crumb via RSS or e-mail
Wild Mushroom, Zucchini, and Goat Cheese Frittata

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Wild Mushroom, Zucchini, and Goat Cheese Frittata

Yield: Serves 6

Wild Mushroom, Zucchini, and Goat Cheese Frittata

Recipe adapted from America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook and A Spicy Perspective

Unless you're planning on making crème brûlée or some other project that's going to use 6 egg yolks, you can use 6 whole eggs and 3/4 cup store-brought egg whites (America's Test Kitchen recommends Eggology 100% Egg Whites), found in your grocery's egg aisle.

America's Test Kitchen suggests using a nonstick skillet for cooking the frittata in, but my nonstick skillet can only handle up to 500 degrees in the oven, so I adapted their method using a 12-inch stainless steel skillet. If you've got a nonstick skillet that can go in the broiler, you can skip the second oiling of the pan.

Ingredients

  • 12 large egg whites (see note above)
  • 6 large egg yolks
  • 2-3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
  • 3 tablespoons 1% milk
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 small onion, minced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 4 ounces wild mushrooms (I used shitakes and oyster mushrooms)
  • 6-8 drops truffle oil (optional)
  • 1 small zucchini, chopped

Instructions

  1. Position an oven rack 6 inches from the broiler element in your oven. Whisk the egg whites, eggs yolks, goat cheese, milk, parsley, lemon zest, salt, and pepper together in a bowl.
  2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 10 or 12-inch stainless steel skillet (see note at the top of the recipe) over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, stir, and cook for 1 more minute. Add the mushrooms and the truffle oil, if using. Cook the mushrooms until they are mostly cooked and deep brown, five to ten minutes. Add the zucchini and cook and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
  3. Remove the veggies from the pan, place on a plate, and set aside. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel. Add 2 teaspoons of oil to the skillet and place over high heat. Swirl the oil over the bottom and sides of the pan so it is thoroughly coated.
  4. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and immediately swirl the pan so that a crust forms in the surface of the skillet. Distribute the veggies evenly over frittata -- DO NOT stir. Cook until the bottom is lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the skillet to the oven and broil until the frittata has risen and the surface is puffed and spotted brown, 3 to 4 minutes.
  5. Take the skillet out of the oven (don't forget, it's hot!!) and let stand until the eggs in the very center are cooked and moist, but not runny, 1 to 3 minutes. Loosen the frittata all along the edges with a spatula and slide (you might need to help it along) onto a serving platter.
http://pixelatedcrumb.com/2012/01/15/wild-mushroom-zucchini-and-goat-cheese-frittata-and-a-giveaway/

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This entry was posted on Sunday, January 15th, 2012 at 11:47 pmand is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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