One Pan Meal: Zucchini Sausage Breakfast Frittata

Summer frittata breakfast in cooked and baked in one pan: zucchini, summer corn, sausage and caramelized onions with herbed goat cheese.

I like breakfast food. I will absolutely make eggs or pancakes or waffles for dinner. But I'm happiest if said breakfast food takes on a more savory element that typical lunches or dinners have. Example: leftover pizza for breakfast is one of the greatest things. And we all know I like efficiency. So let's make a frittata that uses one pan total, that creates a full savory meal in a single dish that makes fantastic leftovers. Oh, and if you have leftover summer produce lingering around, this is the perfect recipe to modify for that. Tomatoes? Make a bruschetta like topping. Green beans? I mean, hell, why not? Or, more likely, lots of zucchini. It's another recipe to use up zucchini (but make sure you use young, small zucchini-seedy tough zucchini is not going to be good in here). 

Let's not forget the cheese before we move on. Many frittata recipes have standard cheddar cheese mixed inside or on top. And that's fine, but I find that for flavor balance it's sometimes not the best choice, especially with caramelized onions and hot sausage involved. You need something stronger and more pronounced. That brings us to the herbed goat cheese on top. Two things here: one is the visual element. How cool are these? I was thinking about last summer when Chef Ryan and I did a dinner with a few other women in food and she made little goat cheese appetizers with edible flowers.  I like how these stand out against a busy frittata back ground but the second bit which is how really like how they concentrate the flavor. When Chris and I ate this after shooting, I enjoyed taking little forkfuls with each bite intentionally. 

One reason this recipe works in a single pan is because it's cast iron. Let me rephrase...it's seasoned cast iron. That means it heats evenly and is virtually non-stick. It can go from stovetop to oven. This cast iron pan was my grandma's. She gave me two of her three when they downsized and I use it nearly daily. Cast iron gets better as you use it so if you have one, work it. 

One Pan Meal: Zucchini Sausage Breakfast Frittata

Entrée: Serves 6

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound hot Italian ground sausage

• 1/4 cup caramelized onions (made ahead of time or made in pan before sausage or purchased)

• 8 large eggs
• 1 cup sliced, small zucchini rounds
• 1 ear summer sweet corn, sliced off cob
• 3 T fresh chopped thyme leaves (some flowers included if you're growing it at home)
• 3 T chopped fresh chives
• black pepper
• 4 oz goat cheese
• 1 small handful fresh basil leaves (small)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 F with a rack in the middle. Cook sausage in a seasoned cast iron skillet. Remove and drain excess fat. Use a paper towel or pastry brush to distribute remaining fat evenly on the inside of the cast iron. In a small bowl whisk eggs to combine. Add cooked sausage, caramelized onions, zucchini and corn in even layers across the cast iron skillet. Pour egg mixture over top. Keep on burner on medium low for about 3 minutes until the edges of the egg start to set. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until the eggs have set and a knife can be inserted in the eggs cleanly, without additional liquid seeping out. Remove from oven.

While the frittata is in the oven or as it begins to cool, chop chives and thyme and place on a small plate with freshly ground black pepper. Using a mellon baller, create scoops of goat cheese. Roll in your hands to create a small ball and roll on plate to coat in herbs and pepper. 

Garnish frittata with basil and extra herbs and pepper. Top with goat cheese balls.  Note: if you add the goat cheese immediately after removing the frittata from the oven, they will begin to melt. We suggest allowing the frittata to cool a bit before adding the goat cheese. 

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