Leek, Kale & Ricotta Pesto Frittata
Serves 4
The very best weekend brunch. So many delicious flavours, so easy to throw together, so full of goodness….so whaddya waiting for??
I don’t make frittatas as much as I should. I think it’s got to do with the fact that my kids won’t eat them, so weekends are normally spent elbow deep in pancake or waffle batter instead. But making a frittata is truly the gift that keeps on giving. I tend to make a big one on the weekends and then enjoy the leftovers during the week when I’m more time-poor (read: frazzled!). It really makes the perfect any-time-of-day meal and I’m not even going to try to be humble about it…this version is just another level of tasty! There are so many wonderful flavours here - from the creamy ricotta, to the juicy tomatoes, from the herby pesto to the sautéed leeks. And the addition of some Dijon mustard just gives it an extra something special, even though you really can’t taste the mustard itself.
It’s a great way of packing in a ton of vegetables and to be honest, this particular concoction was born out of what was going off in my fridge at the time. The poor veggies were just about clinging on to life when I threw them in! That’s the beauty of making frittatas - it’s so versatile that really any veggies work, as well as any cheeses and fresh herbs too.
Whilst it can be served on its own as a lower calorie, low carbohydrate meal; I like to serve it with some wholegrain bread instead for a more balanced, well rounded meal. One portion provides 294 calories, 19g of protein, a quarter of my vitamin C, 69% of my calcium and a whopping 184% of my daily vitamin A requirements. This makes it an all round nutrition powerhouse of a meal!
INGREDIENTS
8 Large eggs
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
100mls milk
2 Leeks
40g Cavolo Nero or Kale
200g Cherry Tomatoes
180g Ricotta
3tbsp Pesto
A little oil to sauté
Salt & fresh black pepper
METHOD
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
Slice the leeks and halve the cherry tomatoes.
De-stalk the caviolo nero and chop into bit size chunks.
Heat a little oil in a large ovenproof frying pan and sauté the leeks over a medium heat for 4 minutes.
Then add the tomatoes and the kale and sauté for another 4-5 minutes.
Then remove that from the heat and set aside.
In a medium bowl, crack the eggs and add the mustard, milk and salt and pepper. Whisk together to fully combine.
Pour the egg mixture into the frying pan and give it a stir to make sure it’s evenly distributed.
Dollop spoonfuls of ricotta on top, and repeat with spoonfuls of pesto.
Heat on the hob over a medium heat for 10 minutes before transferring to the oven for another 20 minutes, or until fully cooked through.
NOTE: Sometimes if the top of the frittata is not yet cooked, I switch to the grill setting to quickly cook the top, but be careful to check regularly that it doesn’t burn.
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Calories - 294
Protein - 19g
Fat - 19g
Carbohydrates - 10g
Vitamin A - 184%
Vitamin C - 24%
Calcium - 69%