Herbaceous Frittata, Vegan & GF

Craving a savory, bursting-with-flavor something in the morning? This frittata has you covered! It’s a pretty quick meal and loaded with greens! You can use a combination of any herbs you have around the house or the garden, but my favorite combination is parsley, dill, and fennel fronds.

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I am usually an oatmeal and fruit kind of person in the morning, but once in a while I’m in a savory mood. This frittata pairs well with toast and hash browns, for the typical breakfast plate. Today we ate the Beyond Meat Breakfast Sausages (which are fabulous, in case you were wondering) on toast. Breakfast sandwiches are such a delight.

Kuku sabzi, a Persian frittata, inspired me to make this recipe. Kuku sabzi combines herbs, leeks, spices, and eggs to create a vibrant green frittata. I recreated a similar flavor profile, but my own favorite herby combination.

Fennel Fronds

I LOVE fennel. Seriously love it. And fennel fronds are totally underused! They can be added into dishes as you would add herbs. You can use them in pesto, guacamole, pasta sauce, salads, really the list is endless. But don’t scrap your fennel fronds! They are super tasty and can be used just as much as the bulb.

Chickpea Flour

Chickpea flour (or garbanzo bean flour) is my favorite eggy dish replacement option. I think it has an excellent flavor, which blends well with the herbs in this dish. I’ve tried making this with tofu style eggs as well, but it just didn’t turn out the same. I usually use the garbanzo bean flour from Bob’s Red Mill, but I haven’t noticed much of a difference between brands of this type of flour.

Making the Frittata

To make the frittata, start by preheating the oven to 375.

Over medium heat add about 4 tbs of neutral oil in a cast iron skillet. The skillet I use is 12 inches, but you can use a slightly larger or smaller one. I baked the frittata in the skillet, so if yours is larger, you might need to reduce the cooking time, or increase the cooking time for a smaller one. (If you do not have a cast iron skillet no worries! You can make the first part of this recipe in any frying pan, and then bake the frittata in similarly sized baking dish!)

Chop ½ of a yellow or red onion and about 1 cup of kale (or other greens, such as collards or spinach). Sauté the onion and kale until the onions are translucent over medium heat, stirring occasionally so they do not brown too much.

While that cooks, begin making the chickpea batter. In a large bowl, combine 1 ½ cups of chickpea flour with 1 ½ cups of water. Whisk until fully combined. Then set this aside to thicken slightly while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. (Remember to give your onions a stir and turn off the stove if they are already translucent.)

Now onto your herbs. You will need 2 packed cups of chopped herbs total. Today I used ½ c parsley, ½ c dill, ½ c cilantro, and ½ c fennel fronds, but feel free to use a different combination! I’ve also tried this recipe with cilantro, basil, and even mint! Each version was delicious, so I just use whatever I have on hand. My favorite combination is probably ½ c parsley, ½ c mint, ½ c basil, and ½ c fennel fronds.

Your chickpea batter should have rested long enough by now. You can now add ½ tsp baking powder, ½ tsp turmeric, 1 ½ tsp salt, and the herbs to the batter. Whisk to combine.

If you are cooking the frittata in the cast iron skillet, leave the onions and kale in the pan and pour the batter directly into the skillet. If not, mix in the kale and onions to the batter, and pour into a greased baking dish. At this point, you are ready to pop this into the oven! It took 35 min for my frittata to cook, but if your baking dish is slightly smaller it could take longer, and if your baking dish is slightly bigger it could take less time. I would start checking it at 30 minutes. It should crack a little bit on the top and be soft, but dry throughout.

Enjoy your herbaceous breakfast!