Baked 'Italian' Frittata with three cheeses, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, spinach, caramelized onions and bacon.
When planning a brunch menu, whether for a special occasion or just a weekend treat, it is always a good idea to offer a savory option as well as a sweet option (such as Lemon-Raspberry French Toast Strata).
This oven-baked frittata is a great savory option to balance our your brunch menu. While the ingredients do take a little bit of preparation, putting the frittata together is simple and fairly quick. The best part is that you can put it all together the evening before, even bake it, and then just let it warm up in the oven the next morning. The frittata can also be served at room temperature, making it ideal for a brunch buffet or leisurely breakfast spread.
The filling in this dish is filling and satisfying in a fairly light egg mixture. A combination of hardwood-smoked bacon, ricotta cheese, shredded mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, roasted red bell peppers, caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms and spinach make a colorful combination that is a treat for the eyes as well as the stomach.
Baked Italian Frittata
1 pound hardwood smoked bacon, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons sugar
1 - 16 ounce jar of roasted red bell peppers, cut into small bite size chunks
1/2 pound of sliced button mushrooms
1 - 14 ounce container or bag of baby spinach
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 - 15 ounce container of ricotta cheese
12 large eggs
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9x13-inch baking pan with deep sides or a 2-quart baking dish with high sides.
In a large pan, cook the bacon pieces over medium heat until the fat reduces and the bacon is just crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain all but about 1 tablespoon of the bacon drippings from the pan. Add 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil to the pan and add the sliced onions and 2 teaspoons sugar to the pan. Stir well and cook about 20 to 25 minutes, until golden stirring occasionally. Remove from pan and set aside. Add the spinach to the hot pan and stir down to cook and wilt the spinach, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. Add the 1 tablespoon butter to the pan and saute the mushrooms until tender and cooked through, about 5 minutes over medium heat. Remove from pan and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt and pepper - beat the mixture well. Stir in 1 cup of the mozzarella, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, and all of the ricotta cheese. Stir in about 2/3 of each of the filling ingredients except for the remaining cheeses. Pour the egg and filling mixture into a lightly oiled 9x13-inch baking pan. Distribute the remaining filling mixture evenly over the egg mixture. Top the entire mixture with remaining cheese.
Bake the frittata at 450 degrees for 10 minutes till the edges have set and are starting to brown. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake the frittata another 25 to 30 minutes until set in the middle and golden brown and puffed. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to just warm or room temperature.
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