Vegetable Frittata

A turning courgette was my motivation for trying Vegetable Frittata from the Hairy Dieters, but it had already gone off when I finally got round to making it. Now for someone who has to follow every recipe to the letter this represented a major crisis. One glass of wine later, I came to my senses and realised that this was a frittata after all, and the whole premise of a frittata is that basically anything goes when you’re throwing it together.

In the Hairy Dieters’ version, they suggest using courgette, red pepper, red onions, butternut squash, broccoli and green beans, but honestly, just use whatever spare vege you have that needs using up. This is a cheap fall-back option when you’ve got some eggs and vegetables in your fridge but don’t know what to do with them.

Don’t let my appalling cutting skills deter you (by this time I’d had two glasses of wine), this will comfortably serve 4 people with a salad on the side, if you like.

Recipe: Vegetable Frittata  

Calories: 230 per serving

Serves: 4

Book: Hairy Dieters – Good Eating

Prep time: Approx 25 minutes

Cooking time: Approx 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 red onions (cut into wedges)
• 1 courgette (cut into rounds)
• 1 red pepper (deseeded and cut into strips)
• 200g butternut squash (peeled and diced)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Half a head of broccoli (broken into small florets)
• 50g green beans (cut in half)
• 6 eggs (beaten)
• Ground black pepper
• Low-calorie olive oil spray
• 6 cherry tomatoes (halved)
• A handful of fresh basil leaves (torn)

Cost per portion: Approx £0.88

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/ gas 6. Line a baking tray or roasting dish with non-stick baking paper and spread the onions, courgette, red pepper and butternut squash over it.

Drizzle with the olive oil, then turn the vegetables over with your hands to coat them all lightly. 

Sprinkle with the oregano. Put the tray in the oven and roast for 30 minutes, then set aside.

Bring a pan of water to the boil and blanch the broccoli and green beans for 2 minutes, then drain. Season the beaten eggs with black pepper.

Heat your grill to its highest setting. Lightly spray a large non-stick frying pan with the olive oil spray and place over a medium heat. 

Tip the roasted vegetables into the pan and spread them all out evenly, so each quarter gets a good balance of the different vegetables. 

Add the broccoli, green beans and cherry tomatoes, then sprinkle with the torn basil.

Pour the beaten eggs all over the vegetables. Cook over a medium heat until the base of the frittata has set – you’ll see the edges turning brown. 

Place the pan under the grill and cook for a few minutes, until the eggs have set and the top of the frittata has started to puff up.

Remove carefully – the handle will be hot – quarter the frittata and serve. It’s good cold, too.