These tasty vegetable muffins are just the thing for packed lunches, on the go breakfasts or picnic meals. The Italian word ‘frittata’ derives from fritto, to fry, and most frittata recipes call for you to fry the vegetables first, but we skip that step in these to make the process quicker. Eggs are one of the only foods that contain naturally-occurring vitamin D - something that we in Britain are usually lacking! Recipe inspired by “Hemsley and Hemsley’s “The art of eating well”.
Ingredients – makes 12
8 eggs
2 large pinches of sea salt
Large pinch of black pepper
3 courgettes, roughly grated
Handful of veg – try chopped red pepper, fennel or peas
1 chopped onion or leek, or some spring onions or fresh chives
1 large garlic clove, finely diced
1tsp dried oregano and a small handful of fresh parsley
Large handful of grated hard cheese* (Cheddar, Gruyère or Parmesan)
*For a dairy free version use a hard goat cheese
Method
1. Preheat the oven to fan 190°C/Gas mark 6. Grease a muffin tray well with a little butter/ghee or use paper cases or parchment paper.
2. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the salt, pepper, all the grated and chopped vegetables or peas, finely chopped onion or leek, garlic and any spices or herbs. You are looking for a ratio of around 50 per cent egg to 50 per cent raw veg.
3. Pour the mixture into the prepared muffin tray.
4. Bake for 12 minutes, then crumble the cheese on top and turn on the grill. Grill for about a minute until the tops are golden brown. Alternatively, you could stir the cheese into the egg mix, not bother with the grill and just cook in the oven for 14 minutes.
5. To check if they are done, give the muffin tray a wobble – the frittatas should be just set in the middle. You can always put them back in the oven for another 1–2 minutes if you think they need cooking any longer.
6. Remove the frittatas from the tray and leave to cool on a wire rack.