Dinner tonight. We ate homemade zucchini bread for lunch when we had a friend over for a tea party this afternoon. For dinner, I wanted to make something that tasted good and wholesome without a lot of effort. After our tea party, my girls and I were visiting a friend who runs a farm stand and pumpkin patch when I spotted plump portabella mushroom tops and immediately thought of omelets. I picked up a bright, fresh purple onion and red tomato there as well. Once I got home, I thought I’d try something slightly fancier than omelets and make a frittata. I read Bon Appétit’s rules for a perfect frittata and came up with this combination.

I had sun-dried tomatoes in the fridge and thought they would work well with everything else. I love the juxtaposition of the sweet and salty sun-dried tomatoes with the juicy, fresh tomatoes. Lastly, the portion of eggs and dairy is just enough to hold the flavorful vegetables together. This frittata was quite simple to make and was lovely to eat at the end of a busy day.

We ate slices of fresh Jonathan apples on the side, simply because I bought some of those at the farm stand as well. And, they’re delicious! They rounded out the meal with a festive, autumnal touch.

Sun-dried Tomato Frittata

• Yield: 6 servings
• Active Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Bake Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small red onion, sliced thin
• 1 large portabella mushroom, chopped in large, bite-size chunks
• 1 medium tomato, chopped and de-seeded, to eliminate excess liquid
• 7-8 pieces sun-dried tomato (I used the kind packed in olive oil), chopped
• 6 eggs
• ¼ cup whole milk
• salt
• pepper
• ½ cup shredded melting cheese of your choice (I used a Mexican blend, because it is what I had on hand)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Melt the butter in an oven-proof skillet. Sauté the onion until it begins to carmelize.
3. Add the mushroom to the onions and cook for several minutes. Add olive oil as necessary.
4. Turn off the heat and arrange the vegetables in an even layer in the pan. Add the fresh tomatoes, arranging evenly and then sprinkle with the chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
5. Whisk together the eggs and milk and season with salt and pepper. Stir in ¼ cup of the cheese.
6. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables, in the skillet. Sprinkle the top with the last ¼ cup of cheese.
7. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. According to Bon Appétit, the top should not brown, and the center should still tremble in the middle, to ensure the texture is custard-like, rather than spongy.