My mother and grandmother were two of the most important influences in my life. Both of these strong, loving women always believed in me, and they were the first people who taught me how to cook.
Although they are gone now, I still think of them every day. Each Mother’s Day, I make sure to pause and remember them. Of course, I also celebrate the many wonderful ways in which my wife, Gelila, always enriches the lives of our sons, Oliver and Alexander — not to mention my own life, too.
For Mother’s Day, it has become a tradition in many homes for the children, often assisted by Dad, to make a “surprise” breakfast or brunch for Mom. I put quotation marks around that word because the commotion coming from the kitchen is usually a good tipoff that something special is being prepared there. And even if the children in question are now grownups and Mom is invited over for the holiday, big preparations are probably still going on in the kitchen.
When people tell me what’s on the Mother’s Day menu, however, I’m often surprised. Usually the featured item is something the children like: maybe pancakes or waffles, or a breakfast pastry loaded with butter and sugar. Mom being Mom, of course, she’ll exclaim it’s exactly what she was craving and genuinely love every bite. Deep inside, though, she just might be wondering how she will make up for all those calories and fat grams she’s consuming now during the rest of the week to come.
That’s why I’d like to share with you a different sort of treat for you to cook for the special woman in your life on Mother’s Day. My Baked Vegetable Frittata With Yogurt and Parmesan is a generous, satisfying breakfast or brunch main dish that surprisingly contains only 195 calories per serving, with fewer than 25 percent of those calories coming from fat.
The secret to making it so healthy comes in substituting egg whites for some of the whole eggs in the recipe, while keeping just enough yolks for flavor and color. The yogurt in the mixture adds nourishing protein and calcium, while also enriching the flavor and contributing a pleasant tanginess. And you can change up the vegetables with whatever you or Mom likes from the farmers market.
This dish is beautiful and delicious enough to feel special for the Mother’s Day table, served with whole-grain toast, some preserves and Mom’s favorite morning beverage. And she may also be secretly pleased that this treat made just for her is also fulfilling one of her most cherished goals: getting the kids to eat their vegetables.
Baked Vegetable Frittata With Yogurt and Parmesan
Serves 4 to 8
Ingredients:
Olive-oil-flavored nonstick cooking spray
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large yellow-fleshed potato, such as Yukon Gold, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 medium-sized yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 medium-sized zucchini, cut crosswise into slices 1/4 inch thick
1/2 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, deveined and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 large eggs
8 large egg whites
1/3 cup nonfat plain yogurt
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Chopped fresh chives or basil, for garnish
Directions:
Heat the oven to 500 degrees.
Heat an 8-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray the inside of the pan with nonstick cooking spray; add the olive oil, and swirl it around the pan. Add the potato, onion, zucchini and bell pepper. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened and begin to turn a light golden color, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, remove the skillet from the heat, and set aside.
Put the eggs, egg whites, yogurt, Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the stainless-steel blade. Process until smooth, stopping once or twice to scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. (Alternatively, combine the ingredients in a bowl and stir together thoroughly with a wire whisk.)
Spread the sauteed vegetables evenly in the skillet, and pour the egg-yogurt mixture evenly over them. Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven, and cook just until the eggs are set, 15 to 20 minutes. If the eggs on top still look a little moist for your liking, switch the oven to the broil setting, or preheat a separate broiler, and pop the pan under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes until the eggs are set and light golden.
Set the skillet aside to let the frittata settle for about 5 minutes. Carefully invert a serving platter over the skillet and, using a potholder to hold the platter and skillet securely together, invert them, and lift away the skillet to unmold the frittata. Cut into wedges and serve hot, lukewarm or even cold, garnished with fresh herbs.