Carrot & Cheddar Fritatta

November 6, 2008

081105carrotegg Carrot & Cheddar Fritatta

This was one of those dishes I never would have tried if it were not for my CSA, which pushes me outside my comfort zone while I try to use up the vegetables from my share. I had read a recipe for a Savory Carrot & Tarragon Tart in Eating Well magazine, and since I am a bit overrun with carrots right now it seemed a good choice for a light dinner.

I ditched the crust entirely and simplified the rest of the instructions: in a small saute pan, I cooked the onions in a drizzle of olive oil until softened, then added 2 cups of shredded carrots (2 enormous carrots) and cooked those down with the onions for 5 more minutes. I patted that mixture into a 9″ non-stick round pan, and then combined and poured the following over it:

1 Tbsp. dry sherry
2 tsp. whole grain mustard
1/2 c. shredded cheddar
1/2 c. non-fat ricotta
1/2 c. 1% milk
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
salt & pepper

I baked it all in my toaster oven for about 35 minutes at 375° F.

All in all, it was an acceptable dinner. The onions and carrots made the dish surprisingly sweet (which made me wonder about the “savory” claim in the original recipe’s title) but pleasant. I should have used a smaller pan — the slices had little height and just weren’t that appealing on the plate because of it. In fact, the fritatta was so flat the boys mistook it for pizza, albeit “not the kind of pizza I like,” according to G. My dad had some leftovers for dinner tonight, and he liked it, too. In the future, though, I’ll stick to fritatta/quiche/baked egg dishes that use greens like broccoli or swiss chard to bulk them up rather than carrots.