Recipe: Chile & Sausage Oven Frittata
Egg dishes are the busy cook’s best friend — especially when you can store a few in the freezer. Not only are they an inexpensive (and protein-packed) breakfast dish, but they can also be dressed up in all kinds of flavor profiles from French to Italian to this Southwest-themed oven frittata.
While you can’t freeze eggs in the shell, blended eggs freeze fabulously, giving you a great way to use up surplus or simply get ahead of the game. I like to freeze quiches and egg casseroles unbaked. Just be sure you clear a flat place in your freezer to store it while it freezes. Thaw in the fridge overnight and tomorrow’s brunch will come together in a jiffy.
Tester’s Notes
I’ve made zillions of egg casseroles, but I hadn’t considered them candidates for the freezer… until this one came along. I love Jessica’s tip for freezing the unbaked egg casserole, and I found that freezing, thawing, and baking was simple as could be. I also like the piquant spice of this sausage-laden casserole. My husband took one on the road for a ski trip and it was the perfect easy breakfast before hitting the slopes.
— Faith, February 2015
Serve This With
Chile and Sausage Oven Frittata
Serves 4
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 4 ounces
sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
- 3/4 cup
shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 1 tablespoon
unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1
(4-ounce) can diced green chiles, drained
- 6
large eggs, beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon
ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon
salt
- 1/8 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon
chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
Grease a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the sausage until no longer pink, breaking up the chunks with the back of a spoon. Drain the sausage and let cool.
Mix the cheese with the flour. Sprinkle the cooked sausage, cheese, and chiles over the bottom of the pie plate.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the cumin, salt, and pepper. Pour the egg mixture into the pie plate. Sprinkle the cilantro over the top.
Freezing Instructions
Place the pie plate flat in the freezer. Freeze until firm. Cover the frozen frittata with foil. Return to the freezer and freeze for up to 3 months.
Thawing & Baking Instructions
Thaw frittata in the refrigerator overnight. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove the foil from the frittata and bake it for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the eggs are set.
Recipe Notes
Reprinted with permission from Not Your Mother's Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook by Jessica Fisher, copyright © 2012. Published by Harvard Common Press.
