Smoked salmon frittata with caramelized onions and spinach

Breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner; this frittata works for any meal. Whipping it up in an oven-safe skillet is a breeze, there's no flipping or crust required. Serve it with toast and cream cheese, for breakfast or with a side salad for lunch.

When I was 5 years old, my mama decided to get us chickens to supply our family with fresh eggs. She constructed a coop next to the shed in our backyard, and then took my sisters and me to the local feed store to stand on our tippy toes, inspect every chick in the cages, and pick out our new pets.

Mine was a black-and-white Plymouth Rock, Sister 1 had a reddish-brown Rhode Island Red, and Sister 2 picked a yellow Buff Orpington. We decided to name them our never-used middle names – Eileen, Elizabeth, and Allison. They were the first pets that were individually ours and it was all very exciting.

From then until very recently my family always had chickens, and always named them accordingly (i.e. Plymouth Rocks will always be “Eileen chickens,” etc.). And always having chickens meant that we always had an assortment of fresh eggs. As far as I’m concerned, eggs are one of the world’s greatest foods. I’m not super into cooking meat, so instead I eat about one egg per day and rarely get tired of them. Boiled, fried, scrambled, in omlettes, or frittatas – the possibilities are endless!

I made this frittata for my family’s Christmas morning breakfast. The ease to deliciousness ratio on this recipe is off the charts! And by that I mean it is super-delicious and also super-easy to make. It’s also super-easy to serve – frittata is good hot out of the oven, at room temperature, for breakfast or for dinner or in your lunch Tupperware the next day.

And don’t be intimidated by the name – as far as I’m concerned, frittata is Italian for "omelet you don’t need to flip" and/or "quiche without having to deal with the crust." This recipe could be adapted to use any ingredients you like. It is also very spinach-heavy, so if you want less of the green stuff, you could halve that part.

Smoked salmon frittata with caramelized onions and spinach

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

6 eggs

6 tablespoons milk 

4-ounces smoked salmon, cut or torn into small pieces

1 box (10-ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained (squeeze spinach between paper towels to get all the excess water out)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 small (or 1/2 large) yellow onion, chopped into medium-sized pieces

2 teaspoons olive oil (divided)

Directions: 

1. Caramelize the onion (this can be done up to a couple days in advance). In a very small saucepan, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil and add onions. Turn the heat to the lowest possible setting and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30-45 minutes or until the onions are sweet and smell amazing. 

2. Preheat your oven’s broiler and have the oven rack in the middle of the oven (so the frittata won’t be too close to the broiler).

3. In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs and milk. Stir in spinach, smoked salmon, caramelized onions, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4. In a medium-sized skillet that can go in the oven, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil. Turn the heat to medium-low and spread egg mixture in the bottom of the pan. 

5. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until frittata is set but the top is still runny.

6. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and put it under the broiler with the oven door closed for 3-5 minutes. Keep your eye on it – you don’t want burnt frittata!

7. Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes, then serve with toast and cream cheese.