Supremely Satisfying Paleo Frittata Recipe with Cheese Crust

Usually, quiche has a crust and a Frittata does not.  This recipe has a "crust" made of cheese, but I'm calling it a frittata anyway.

Replacing my typical shredded potato crust with shredded cheese was a happy experiment owed to a temporary abstention from carbohydrates, thus the word 'paleo' in the title.  I'd be shocked if a doctor endorsed this substitution, so I didn't ask one because being shocked is definitely bad for you.

As delicious as a crispy hash brown crust is, I didn't miss it.

While sharing it with my children (in a stunning turn of humanitarianism) someone commented "mmmmf harra guff heeza!" which can be roughly translated to "This is almost as satisfying as Pizza!" for those who speak without their mouths full.

I would've agreed, if agreeing with oneself wasn't so off-putting.

 

Ingredients

• 1 lb breakfast sausage
• 1 lb hamburger
• 2 zucchini, chopped
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 1 large tomato, sliced thin
• Two large handfuls of spinach or Kale (I used bok choy. Most any greens will do.)
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 10 eggs, beaten
• 1 Tbsp Tabasco Sriracha (or hot sauce of your choosing)
• 1 cup shredded Dubliner  (or cheddar)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella 
• 2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Brown sausage and ground beef together in large cast iron skillet, seasoning with salt & pepper.

Add onion, zucchini and garlic, and cook until onion is translucent (about 5 minutes).

Beat eggs together with Sriracha in a large mixing bowl.

Move your meat mixture to a separate mixing bowl, and stir in greens.

With your still-messy skillet over medium heat, add the shredded Dubliner cheese evenly on the base of the the skillet.  Allow to melt for 1 minute to mostly cover base.

Pourrange (a word meaning pour, but arrange at the same time) meat mixture evenly on top of melted cheese. Pour egg mixture evenly over meat mixture. Cover with mozzarella, and arrange tomato slices on top.  If you put mozzarella on the bottom it will tend to burn due to the low moisture content, so put it on top.

Bake at 400F for 20 minutes.  Crisp the top under the broiler if necessary.

Garnish with fresh basil and serve immediately.

 

Things I would have added if I had them: Broccoli, bacon bits, ham, every other salty meat, dash of heavy cream, roasted Jalapenos, and eye of newt. If adding broccoli, don't precook it or it will transform into green mush.  Add it raw to your meat mixture just before adding to the skillet.  Heavy cream should be added to your egg mixture.

This recipe welcomes substitutions additions, and multiplications.  The sky (and your skillet size) is the limit.

A special note of thanks to Lopaka Powell for recipe testing, and no, you cannot substitute canned tuna for sausage or omit the eggs and cheese.