Squash and Tomato Oven Frittata

"What's for lunch?" my husband asks on the occasion that he has the luxury to work from home. If I'm around, I like to try to find the time to make him a nice lunch that we can enjoy together. Here's one that we recently enjoyed together... a Squash and Tomato Oven Frittata. This is yet another recipe from the wonderful cookbook that I've been using lately, Williams-Sonoma: A Harvest of Pumpkins and Squash.

These are the "goods" you'll need to make this yummy frittata:

Squash is used as the crust of the frittata... I used yellow squash but you can also sub zucchini. Also needed- eggs, Gruyere (or Swiss), Parmesan, tomatoes, onions, garlic, basil, parsley, oregano, and the usual salt/pepper/olive oil. The orange bowls are these cute Mario Batali prep bowls that I got for my birthday. Love them!!

This recipe calls for seeded tomatoes. To seed a tomato, cut it in half crosswise, then lightly squeeze and shake it to dislodge the seeds. Use a finger, if needed, to help dislodge the seed sacs.

Despite the name "oven frittata," most of the frittata is done on the stove.

The squash gets sauteed for a bit and then removed from the pan. Saute the onions & garlic & tomatoes and transfer those to a bowl. The squash then is spread in the bottom of the pan and you pour the eggs on top with a sprinkle of oregano. At a low heat, the frittata is cooked until the eggs are almost completely cooked on top of the squash. I tilted the pan a bit and kept swirling the egg around to prevent uneven cooking.

The remaining ingredients are then sprinkled on top and the pan is placed into the oven until the cheese is melted and egg is completely set.

I used a rubber spatula to scrape around the edge of the pan, and gently slid the frittata onto a cutting board. At this point, my husband walked into the kitchen and said, "What is that?" (in an excited and admiring tone). "It's lunch," I said.

And it was. So we sliced it up and savoured every bite. The recipe said that it served 6, but we consumed 3/4 of it without any difficulty! The fresh tomato and basil provided beautiful color. The melted Gruyere cheese pulled it all together. My husband's parting remark... "Restaurant Quality!" (and a thank you, of course).

This recipe can be found HERE.

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