Zucchini Frittata With Tomato Salad
When Freddie and I went upstate last month, we invited the wonderful Jenny Rosenstrach and her husband Andy over for dinner…
Freddie made breaded shrimp and vegetable linguine, and Jenny brought the salad, and it was such a joy to be around her again!
Blurry photo, taken while laughing
As you may remember, Jenny wrote the Cup of Jo food column for seven years — with absolute bangers like five things to do with corn and tomatoes, a slice-and-bake cookie taste test, and the #1 thing she’d tell new parents about family dinner — and she, of course, has written bestselling cookbooks and runs the popular weekly newsletter, Dinner: A Love Story.
This morning, I called her to ask if we could publish a recipe of hers, for old times’ sake — and, always generous, she said of course. So, I chose this delicious Spanish tortilla Zucchini Frittata [my mistake, updated!!] that you can have for breakfast, lunch, snacks, or dinner.
Zucchini Frittata
by Jenny Rosenstrach
For the frittata:
3 tablespoons olive oil
12 ounces (about 3 small Yukon gold or red potatoes) peeled and chopped into very tiny cubes
kosher salt and freshly ground peppered pepper flakes
1⁄2 small yellow onion
1 large zucchini (12 ounces), shredded and squeezed dry in a kitchen towel
8 eggs, whisked
1⁄2 cup milk
1 cup grated Gruyère (or fontina)
1⁄2 cup grated fresh Parmesan
For the tomato salad:
4 of the meatiest, juiciest tomatoes you can find
sea salt
fresh basil, shredded (for serving)
Heat broiler. Add olive oil to a 9-inch cast iron (or oven-safe) skillet set over medium-high heat. Add potatoes in one layer as much as possible, salt and pepper, and let sit without stirring. After 3 minutes of sizzling, toss, scraping from the bottom so you don’t lose the browning.
Once potatoes are golden and brown on most sides (about 6 minutes total), stir in red pepper flakes and onions and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the zucchini and sauté, another 3 minutes. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, Gruyère (or fontina), and 1⁄4 cup of Parmesan, then pour the mixture into the pan, stirring a little (or poking through the vegetables) to allow for eggs to seep to the bottom of the pan. Let sit for 4 to 5 minutes until the egg looks cooked around the edges. Sprinkle remaining Parmesan on top then place the skillet under the broiler for about 2 minutes, until eggs are cooked and slightly puffy, and the cheese looks melted. (Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t burn.) Remove and let cool slightly.
Using a rubber spatula, loosen the frittata around the edges of the pan, then slice into wedges and serve.
Serve with thick slices of peak-season tomatoes with really good olive oil and sea salt, sprinkled with basil. A tomato salad in August is going to complement anything. As Julius Roberts says, “just let them do the talking.” Side note: Julius Roberts is so hot, the way he cooks is so hot, my DMs on Instagram are 90% dogs and 10% Julius Roberts.
What are you cooking these days? And if you miss Jenny as much as I do, you can sign up for her Dinner: A Love Story newsletter here. xoxo
P.S. More Jenny posts that we loved:
* the fish sandwich I make once a week
* chicken parm meatballs
* pasta with broccoli pesto
* the simple green salad on my dinner table nine times out of ten
* five rotisserie chicken dinners
* a potato salad trick
* lazy man’s ratatouille
* smashed pea toasts with ricotta
* a crisp for all seasons
* how to get your kids to talk at dinner
* Trader Joe’s knock-offs vs. original brands: which is better?
* vanilla ice cream taste test
* the restaurant surprise I’m still thinking about two decades later
* how to be a good dinner guest: seven rules
Tags: tomatoes
Comments
63 commentsThis sounds perfect for a potluck brunch with my girlfriends. Definitely making it soon!
Gosh that just sounds delicious! Will def try!
With school out (I’m a teacher) I have more time and energy for cooking! In the past week, I’ve made zucchini carbonara ( bacon is replaced with thin zucchini strips), Ina Gartens Oven cooked risotto, replacing the peas with fresh corn cut off the cob, and summer is always a good time for caprese salad with basil from our garden!
Anyone else misread this for JuliA Roberts? For a second I was really confused about her penchant for ripe tomatoes…
Yes!!! Hahaha.
TJ hash browns or rösti mixed into the eggs (and onions) are also a useful hack … and hash browns or rösti make a wonderful breakfast or two. Greetings from the motherland of rösti (Switzerland) a
Anne, my husband and I spent a lovely two weeks in Switzerland on our honeymoon in January. I would love your rösti recipe! (No TJ near us but as we’ve just moved to northern Wisconsin I expect I will crave that comforting cheesy-potatoy-deliciousness this winter.)
When did Jenny stop writing on cup of jo? Somehow I missed this!
https://cupofjo.com/2024/12/18/10-things-ive-learned-writing-this-column/
It’s the sweetest thing that you still introduce Jenny ❤️🤣 And such a warm feeling that the people you’ve woven into Cup of Jo are people who are still part of your in-person life.
Ha Julius Roberts, my first exposure googling him after reading this. Nice little treat to start my day, thank you :’)
This is one of our favorite weeknight go-to’s – on this week’s meal plan in fact. Our family highly recommends!
This looks so good! Ironically, I made zucchini fritters and a sliced tomato salad for dinner last night, so my plate looked very similar to that cover photo! I use chickpea flour when I make fritters for a little extra protein. The frittata looks excellent with the gruyere…drooling…going to try this version next time!
Is that Freddie’s house?! You gotta give us a tour.
I think it is where they stayed upstate.
You are so right about Julius Roberts – him, the food, the setting, his hair… perfection!
This looks delicious but I expect some more Julius Roberts comments! So gorgeous and he cooks what looks like amazing food and I’d go live on a farm and raise sheep with him even though I really am not remotely qualified or probably capable of doing such things! He could change this city girl in a heartbeat!
First of all, my copy of “Dinner, A Love Story” is so tattered I probably need a new one. Secondly – where is this beautiful abode upstate? I would love to know!! It is gorgeous.
Joanna, I don’t think you can call yourself a non-cook anymore. You regularly write about cooking with your boys! Maybe you could say you are a newer cook? Give yourself more props!
About to have a bumper crop of zuc at our house, so thank you Jenny! (We pass on tomatoes.)
Newbie to processing fresh zucchini here. Should I peel it and scrape out the center? I always wonder. Thanks in advance!
Just use the whole thing! Easy peasy.
Thank you, Cheryl!
Sounds good, but where is the zucchini???
I lived in Spain a bit and my host mom had a trick – whenever she got tired of cutting potatoes (or she was running behind, or didn’t feel like it, or was short a potato or two, or just wanted to add a bit more crunch…) she’d throw in potato chips – no more chopping, nice and thinly sliced, worked like a charm! Up to about half the bulk of the tortilla. She kept a giant bag on top of the fridge.
My favorite Spanish tortilla recipe uses potato chips. So super easy. And delicious. We add some cheese to melt on top, a thick slice of fresh tomato and salt on top. Having it for dinner this week!
Deb taught me! Works every time and there’s a link to a tortilla flipping cartoon. https://smittenkitchen.com/2007/09/tortilla-de-patatas/
We’ve made a version of this for years that gets even easier by subbing out the sliced potatoes (which honestly is the trickiest part – slice them even a hair’s edge too thick and the tortilla comes out gummy!) with kettle cooked salt and vinegar chips. Good looooord: https://www.seriouseats.com/salt-and-vinegar-spanish-tortilla-recipe The chips make it crispier AND more flavorful. Bonus, you can have the whole thing done in less than 30 minutes!
!!!!!!!!
Wow genius making this this weekend!!
I’ve been making this for years too! It’s so good and easy. Cheese on top, plus a spice of fresh tomato and salt. Add a green salt. Perfect summer dinner. (I do in a skillet on the stove too)
We use hash browns straight from the freezer. They brown up in no time.
Breaded shrimp and vegetable linguini? Yum!
he just pulls out whatever’s in the fridge/cupboard and makes something delicious! truly can’t get my mind around it, as a non-cook
Spaniard here writing from Madrid (¡hola!). The tortilla española or tortilla de patata as we, spaniards, call it, is always fully cooked in a pan on the stove, never in the oven. The most difficult part of the recipe is to flip the tortilla to cook it on both sides (excuse my english!) #concebolla
I cook one side. Slide the whole thing onto a plate. Then flip the plate back over the skillet. Almost always works perfectly.
#concebolla siempre
I would love it if Freddie shared his breaded shrimp and vegetable linguine recipe! Maybe there’s a foodie collaboration coming between Freddie and Jennie?
I’ll ask him! xoxo
I would LOVE some savory breakfast ideas without eggs! I have an egg allergy but am not vegetarian. I’d love a quiche or breakfast sandwich, but it’s hard to find egg-free options!
I have a son who only likes savory breakfasts & dislikes eggs. We do a lot of burritos -potatoes or rice, ground beef, cheese & salsa-great for batch making & freezing. Breakfast sandwiches with hummus or avocado and bacon. Avocado makes a good egg substitute. I love savory oatmeal -add nutritional yeast or miso & cubed baked tofu, optional add some nuts.
Smitten Kitchen has a great bean and vegetable burrito recipe (that I’m sure you could add meat to, if you wanted). They are delicious and also so easy to freeze. I make a batch, eat a few and then freeze the rest, and I am always so happy when I come home too starving to cook to remember that there are homemade burritos in the freezer waiting for me. https://smittenkitchen.com/2023/03/bean-and-vegetable-burritos/
Tofu scramble? Or maybe a breakfast hash with lots of meat/veggies and shredded potatoes?
I have a teen that is not a huge fan of eggs. His breakfast, most days of the week, is a grilled ham and cheese sandwich.
A nice tofu scramble or ful-inspired beans are great with toast. You can also broil toast topped with tomato slices and cheese.
Absolutely any Indian breakfast dish! Idli, dosa, vada, upma, uttapam, aloo paratha, chole bhature, aloo toast, masala oats (savory oatmeal)
Slabs of roasted potato or sweet potato served with veg/rice/beans on top is savory, filling and easy. I roast a tray of planks once for the week and use as the mood strikes.
this kind of recipe works great with Just Egg, a vegan egg that makes perfect omlette’s and quiches/frittata’s.
I love what I think of as a European breakfast- good cheese, bread or crackers, and whatever fruits or veggies I need to use. So delicious and easy!
you can make tofu out of chickpea flour (https://ohmyveggies.com/burmese-chickpea-tofu-recipe/) and you can stir roasted chopped up veggies in it if you want. I like to let it set then slice and pan fry so it is crispy. you could also use a slab of chickpea tofu like an egg and put in a sandwich.
Chickpea “omelettes”? 1/4 cup of chickpea flour, 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast, and water to get it to the right consistency. Sometimes I double this for a bigger meal. I use the ingredients I’d normally stick instead an omelette (peppers, onions, vegan cheese, etc).
Just egg is incredible! Just make sure to use parchment paper or a nonstick pan when cooking it. Add black salt for even more of an egg taste.
I was introduced to chickpea “frittata” by a vegan friend a few years back, and it’s infinitely riff-able, and very delicious/filling/healthy. I don’t often use a recipe anymore … the main idea is chickpea flour+water to the right consistency, then season with whatever spices you like and add some mix-ins. (Here’s the recipe that I think followed when learning to make this, though I’ve always just baked all together in one pan for simplicity: https://simple-veganista.com/mini-chickpea-flour-frittatas/#tasty-recipes-10814-jump-target) Most often I make a curry one (with curry powder, smoked paprika, chili powder + any veg I have on hand) or a herby one (with lots of chopped parsley, dill, cilantro, chives, etc. + sautéed onion, garlic, zucchini, and/or greens). It’s a great clean-out-the-produce-drawer option. :)
Thick slice of really good bread (or English muffin or cinnamon raisin bagel) toasted, spread some peanut butter. Add sliced bananas or apples. Delish! This is my fave lunch in the fall when apples are in season, but works for breakfast too.
My current hyper fixation breakfast is cottage cheese (the whipped kind by the brand Friendship is SO good. Almost cream cheese-y), topped with thinly sliced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, sometimes pickled jalapeños if I’m feeling spicy. Then I’ll top with either herbs, everything but the bagel seasoning, a Caro Chambers herby vinaigrette if I have some, or any combo of those three. Top with good flaky sea salt, a bunch of black pepper, and maybe a drizzle of good EVOO. Oh man, is it good.
Jenny’s broccoli pesto pasta opened my hubs eyes to the “green tree” veg! A long time broc hater converted! The only ingredient I add to her tasty tortilla recipe is fresh chopped herbs. Usually fresh thyme leaves. Comfort on a plate and always salted, fresh sliced NJ tomatoes on the side. Kitchen Keepers!
I’m sorry, is anyone else finding the instructions for making this really confusing? Why do you put the eggs in the bowl but not the skillet, strain the oil, wipe the skillet, then put oil back in the same skillet that you just wiped? I would really like to make this, and generally I think I’m good at cooking and following recipes, but I think I need a video or something to understand how to execute this.
Agree! Looks too complicated for me but probably delicious!
the recipe is now updated! I used the wrong one, my mistake! xo
It does seem like a lot of unusual steps, but a traditional Spanish tortilla is cooked liked like this and the flavor is so embedded in the eggs because you cook the potatoes in the oil and then mix the cooked mixture in the eggs to impart more flavor and starch and then the oil is used for cooking/baking the mixture for more flavor. So it’s overly complicated, but traditional.
It’s like you read my mind! Trader Joe’s frozen Spanish tortilla that is a major part of my diet, but lately they’ve had supply chain issues. I was just thinking that I was going to have to start making them on the weekends. I’m gonna read all the comments for advice. Yay!
I am glad to know there is a TJ’s version, even if I may have to hunt to find it :)
When I was in Madrid, the coffee shop across the street from my hotel had a version of this on the counter in the morning – easy enough for me to point and say “un poco por favor.” It was deeee-lish!