Spicy Red Pepper and Leeks Frittata

Here’s another recipe that doesn’t take too much prep time, but can be extremely rewarding, and extremely versatile. You can substitute in almost any vegetable combination you can think of, and they’ll generally work out great. For this one, leeks and peppers seemed to be the right combination for this recipe.

That, and it’s what I had in my fridge. So nyah.

What makes this a little bit more fun is the inclusion of Sriracha sauce. Legend has it that many centuries ago, a Thai farmer came across a magical talking catfish, who had inadvertently found its way onto the land, but was unable to get back to the pond that it lived in. The farmer, upon hearing the cries for help from the catfish, ran over to see what was causing so much noise near his farm.

The catfish said, “Please sir, help me! I cannot get back to my home in the water! If you help me, I will grant you any wish that you desire!”

The farmer, knowing that catfish are dirty liars and cheat at Monopoly, took the fish home and fried it for dinner in a delicious Sriracha sauce.

Okay, back to semi-seriousness. If you’re going to make a frittata, you need an oven safe pan. My recommendation is to get yourself an 8-inch Lodge cast iron skillet. Be forewarned that a great cast iron skillet is much like a Waffle House, the greasier it is, the better, just without the lingering aroma of truckers coming off an 18 hour meth-fueled drive to deliver crap to Wal-Mart. These skillets are also super cheap, which never hurts, either.

Ingredients:

• 1 organic red bell pepper (also called holland pepper)
• 4 cage free eggs
• 1 leek
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/8 to 1/4 tsp tsp Sriracha Sauce
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to bake at 350 degrees Farenheit, with the cast iron skillet in the oven.
2. Cut and discard the bottom 1/4 inch and the top green leafy part of the leeks, then peel off the outer layer of skin, and discard that as well. Rinse well, and cut into 1/4 to 1/2 slices. Set aside.
3. Cut the top and bottom from the red bell pepper, and discard. Remove and discard the seeds and center inside, and then proceed to cut the pepper into 1/2 inch chunks. Set aside.


 

4. Dice the 2 garlic cloves, and set aside.
5. Take four eggs, beat well until bubbles begin to form, and set aside.


 



6. Remove the cast iron skillet from the oven and place it on a burner on the stove, with the heat set to medium high. Add two teaspoons of EVOO, and coat the skillet well.
7. Add chopped garlic and leeks to the skillet, cooking for about two minutes until leeks begin to caramelize.

 

8. Add the chopped peppers, and 1/8 teaspoon of sriracha sauce. The peppers will start to loose their color as they cook, and it’s okay if the leeks come apart in the skillet. Keep stirring the vegetables so they cook evenly for about five minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.


 

9. Push the peppers and leeks towards the center of the skillet a bit, so that you have about 1/2 inch of space between your vegetables and the edge of the skillet. Pour the eggs around the edge of the skillet, and spiral in towards the center. You can press the vegetables down so they don’t tower above the eggs too much. Let the eggs cook for about two minutes, until the edges start to slightly solidify, but you don’t want it all to cook completely through!
10. Using an oven mitt, place the skillet into the oven, and let it cook for 15-18 minutes, until the eggs have set.
11. Remove the skillet from the oven, cut into quarters, and tuck in!

A few notes about this one. Like I said, you can do any number of things to adjust this recipe to how you like. You can swap out vegetables, add cheeses if they’re in your diet, or even sliced almonds for a nice crunch. If you’re going to add cheese, I’d suggest waiting until just after you’ve added the eggs, and then evenly spreading about 1/4 cup through the skillet. Goat cheese and cheddar are two of my personal favorites. I’ve tried this recipe numerous times, and four eggs (or 1 cup of egg beaters) seems to be the minimum number of eggs to get this recipe to work well, although you could probably go up to six eggs in this skillet size. You can also serve this with a side of salsa, mustard, or any other accoutrement that suits your tastes. If you have other combinations that have worked for you, post them to the comments!

Zone Blocks:
Protein: 4 blocks
Carbs: 2 blocks
Fat: 2 blocks

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