Ham and Cheddar Frittata Squares Recipe with Fresh Herbs (2024)

FAQs

Should I add milk to my frittata? ›

Do you add water or milk to a frittata? Let's just say that full-fat milk or heavy cream is the best way to go. Water will work, but you won't get the density and rich texture you'll get when you use a full-fat liquid. Sour cream, crème fraîche or yogurt can be substituted for the heavy cream in this recipe.

The pre-game. If meat and vegetables figure into your frittata, cook them in the pan before you add your eggs—and I leave mine ever so slightly underdone. That way, they don't get soggy when they keep cooking in the oven (and I tend to like my vegetables with a little “bite” anyway, but it's a personal preference).

Most frittatas are delicious at just about any temperature, from fresh-out-of-the-oven hot, to room temperature or even cold. For lunch or dinner, you complete the meal with a side of lightly dressed greens; for breakfast, add fruit or a slice of bacon.

What Makes a Frittata Rise? Milk or cream is the essential ingredient that will make your frittata rise. Cooked without either milk or cream, the frittata will be flatter and less puffy. Add the milk or cream to the eggs and whisk them together until they are fluffy.

This also holds true for aromatics, like onions, and sturdy veggies, like raw potatoes. "They won't get much more tender once you add the beaten eggs," says Perry, "So cook them fully before combining everything." Don't be afraid of getting a little color on the vegetables: That's what makes them so delicious!

The Frittata Ratio to Memorize

So how do you make a great frittata every time without always using a recipe? The answer is a ratio. For every six eggs, use 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1 cup cheese, and 2 cups total of vegetables and/or meat.

Go for high moisture cheeses

According to Cheese Science, high moisture cheeses like mozzarella and smoked Gouda are great melting cheeses that give frittatas their desired texture. Meanwhile, a low moisture cheese like Parmesan won't melt in the oven, especially when it's surrounded by a mixture of eggs.

Use a cast-iron skillet.

I like to use an enameled cast iron skillet, which does not require any pre-seasoning. If you don't have a skillet, go make this breakfast casserole recipe instead.

The eggs should be cooked through, not runny and a knife should come out clean when inserted into the centre. You can also give the skillet a gentle shake to determine if it is done; a runny frittata will jiggle when you shake the skillet.

Here, we'll discuss these mistakes and how to fix them. You don't season the frittata. If you don't add seasoning to your frittata, it will end up tasting bland.

What goes well with frittata? ›

Serve for brunch with an accompanying platter of crusty bread, fresh fruit, cheese, and salumi, or for lunch with a green salad.

The longer you cook an egg, the more likely it is to form a green coating on the yolk. Submerging an egg in ice water immediately stops the cooking. The green-gray color (and the whiff of sulfur smell that often accompanies it) comes from the reaction of iron in the egg yolk and sulfur in the egg white.

The Italian word frittata derives from friggere and roughly means "fried". This was originally a general term for cooking eggs in a skillet, anywhere on the spectrum from fried egg, through conventional omelette, to an Italian version of the Spanish omelette, made with fried potato.

When cooking a frittata, it's always a good idea to add dairy, specifically whole milk. Dairy isn't absolutely required to make a frittata, but if you want an ideal creamy consistency, you should add it. If milk isn't your style, you can even add yogurt to your frittata recipe to thicken it.

Adding milk or plain water to scrambled eggs is an optional step that affects the texture of your finished dish. For creamy scrambled eggs, you'll add up to 1 tablespoon of milk for every egg. For fluffy scrambled eggs, you'll add up to 1 tablespoon of water for every egg.

Adding milk to scrambled eggs might be a well-known cooking tip, but the truth is that it's more of an old wives' tale. In fact, milk actually does the exact opposite of what you're trying to achieve, serving only to dilute the flavor and ruin the integrity of the eggs.

Milk, plant milk, or water – I whisk a little into the eggs before I cook them. This additional moisture makes the eggs extra-soft and creamy. If you use plant milk, make sure to pick one with a neutral flavor. I recommend unsweetened almond milk.

Do you add milk to an omelette? Many people add either milk or cream to their omelettes in order to bulk them out and have a more substantial dish without the need to add an extra egg. While this does work, it's crucial not to go overboard or you'll end up with a mixture that's too loose.