Zucchini and Sun-Dried Tomato Frittata

by Marjan

The French enriched our palates with quiche and the Italians blessed us with frittata. During cold winter months, Sundays I bake a quiche so that I can continue to enjoy a gratifying meal all week long with whatever is left over. With hot summer days, I like to bake a frittata and enjoy the leftovers for lunch at work (if there is any left!) to celebrate the joy of Sunday cooking with fresh ingredients. From our garden, I pick fresh basil and zucchini; from my pantry, I use my abundant supply of sun-dried tomatoes (a dehydrator saves me from having to eat or discard all the seasonal fruits and vegetables from our harvest); from our chickens, I gather fresh eggs. Light and tangy, yet filling, my zucchini and sun-dried tomato frittata is just as delicious served cold as it is hot.



Some recipes for frittatas contain a generous portion of pasta and cheese, and very few other products. However my recipe cuts back on both by using a multitude of ingredients and an ample amount of zucchini and sun-dried tomatoes to pack in all the flavors of summer and cut back on calories. On occasion, I have prepared this recipe to serve for brunch. Not only is it a stunning dish, but it is layered with eggs, cheese, turkey sausage, and pasta to make it a complete meal all onto itself! Paired with Prosecco sparkling wine, you can celebrate this fantastic Italian inspiration with your loved ones at your next gathering.




Ingredients

1lb fresh Italian turkey sausage- casings removed
¼ teaspoon of Italian herb seasoning
1medium zucchini (approximately one lb)-shredded
2 cloves of garlic-minced
2 tablespoon of white wine (or Prosecco to also later be enjoyed with frittata)
4 tablespoons of freshly chopped basil leaves
½ cup macaroni- cooked al dente
¾ cup chopped soft sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup parmesan cheese-grated
8 eggs
1 cup milk
3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
¼ cup Italian bread crumbs
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

In a cast-iron or nonstick frying pan over medium heat, cook sausage, breaking up the meat until mildly cooked (no pink meat remaining). Sprinkle Italian seasoning and stir in well. Remove turkey sausage pieces from the pan onto paper towel to soak up fat. Discard fat in pan by using paper towels to wipe pan clean.

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9-inch nonstick spring form pan and coat it with bread crumbs making sure bread crumbs cover the entire wall and bottom of pan completely.
Meanwhile, using the same frying pan, warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add zucchini and sauté until bright green (a couple of minutes). Add garlic, ¼ teaspoon salt, white wine and sauté for a couple of more minutes until all the liquids have cooked off; remove from heat. Stir in the basil and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine and toss cooked macaroni, sun-dried tomatoes, cheese, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, ½ teaspoon each salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spoon sausage into the spring form pan evenly layered. Next, again, evenly layer on top the zucchini mixture, followed by the pasta mix. In the same bowl which contained the macaroni, whisk eggs, milk and mustard until well blended. Pour the egg mix over the ingredients evenly. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and cook until golden brown crust is formed-approximately 40-50 minutes.

Let cool on a rack for 20 minutes; remove side of pan and serve cutting pie size wedges.


From our partner: LO+JUNE

From our partner: LO+JUNE
Artisanal French products in our Swiss fine food boutique