How to cook a fritatta for beginner cooks

After years of fad diets, smart people are getting back to nutrition basics. We're eating fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, the good kinds of fats – real foods that humans have been eating all along. And despite years of bad press, the common egg has been rediscovered for its solid health benefits: quality protein, fat (albeit saturated) that sustains energy and sates the appetite, and just a small bit of cholesterol that humans need for certain endocrinological functions.

And, they are easy to eat and quite versatile. Eggs in the pan are a classic meal, and ones that can be a strong part of a healthy, protein and vegetable-rich diet. From start to finish, most egg dishes can be made in around 15 minutes.

If you’re a really good multi-tasker, you shave and get dressed at the same time. Maybe it’s something for the weekend. And maybe it’s a meal later in the day.

The egg part is easy. Coat a pan with cooking spray, set the stove to medium high, set the eggs loose and either flip them when harden or scramble with a spatula while cooking. The frying part is done in about three minutes, max. With a microwave and commercial egg substitutes, it’s about the same amount of time.

But to make it a little more interesting and nutritionally diverse, you enter omelet and frittata territory. The difference between omelets and frittatas are largely aesthetic, in my opinion. An omelet is a little harder to make in that you have to hold it all together in a neat little fold. A frittata, loosely defined, is an egg mess: everything cooked up and in a pile – no flipping or folding involved here. (Technically, the Spanish gourmand would argue on this point. I’m an American Midwesterner and just want to point out this is where the drive-through breakfast burrito and edible underwear were invented. So I’m allowed.)

The omelet almost always has cheese, vegetables and spices in it, the frittata can too. My experience with omelets is you have to be careful about portion sizes and overall proportion. If it gets too big, it falls apart – leaving you with a frittata. So why start the day with a failure? Every greasy diner in the free world serves omelets anyway – master the frittata at home.

Note, if your goal is to lose weight in part by reducing calories and fat while increasing protein intake, egg substitutes provide significant advantages: One whole egg is about 70-80 calories, 4.5 grams fat and 5 grams protein. Egg substitutes vary a bit by brand, but three portions, at a physical bulk three times that of an egg (140 grams), can be 75 calories, zero fat and 15 grams of protein.

Broccoli Tomato Frittata It’s a great, crunchy meal that sets the day out right.

You need:

• Skillet and spatula

• Cooking spray

• Eggs (4, or one 8 ounce carton of egg white/egg substitute)

• Chopped broccoli (One bag of frozen) • Tomatoes (One can of stewed)

• Small onion, chopped

• Optional: Cheese (One handful, grated – low fat cheddar, mozzarella, feta or Swiss)

• Optional: Meat (One handful –– turkey, chicken or ham are best)

Do:

1. Spray skillet

2. Stir-fry the onions for 4 minutes (medium high temperature)

3. Add chopped broccoli for 2 minutes; if using meat, add these now also

4. Add can of stewed tomatoes (pour off some excess juice)

5. Break/pour eggs over top; allow to set (harden) for about 2 minutes

6. With spatula, swoosh around, maybe flip scoopfuls of it

7. Add cheese if you insist

8. Cover and cook on stovetop on low until the top sets- or place in the oven on low heat (325 degrees F) for 10-15 minutes. When eggs are set all around you’re done.

9. Season (salt, pepper, mustard, Italian dressing, Parmesan cheese) to taste

Viva Bean Frittata Spices, corn and beans make these huevos heroic. You need:

• Skillet and spatula

• Cooking spray

• Eggs (4, or one 8 ounce carton of egg white/substitute)

• Kidney beans (One can, red or black beans)

• Green peppers (One bag of frozen, fresh is ok too)

• Corn (half bag, frozen)

• Tomatoes (One can stewed or diced)

• Small onion (chopped)

• Hot sauce, other flavors to taste

• Cheese (optional)

Do:

1. Spray skillet

2. Stir-fry (medium high) the onions for 4 minutes

3. Add corn, frozen peppers and stewed tomatoes for 4 minutes

4. Add can of beans

5. Break/pour eggs over top; allow to set (coagulate) for about 3 minutes

6. Add cheese if you insist

7. With spatula, swoosh and flip it around

8. Cover and cook on stove. When eggs are set all around you’re done.

9. Season (salt, pepper, mustard, hot sauce, Parmesan cheese) to taste Frittatas are good on toast, alongside brown rice or just by themselves if you’re doing avoiding white (processed) carbohydrates.

# # #

Excerpted from "A Guy's Gotta Eat, the regular guy's guide to eating smart," by Russ Klettke, with Deanna Conte, MS RD LD (Marlowe & Co./Da Capo Press 2004). Available where books are sold and in more than 100 public library systems in the U.S., Canada and Europe.