EZ Comfort Food for Tired Wenches

Two quick announcements before we get to  Allison Rivers Samson’s frittata recipe:

  1. Allison won the 2011 Veggie Award for Favorite Column in VegNews magazine! Yep, voters really dig her VeganzeIt! recipe column and if you haven’t read it, you should, right now…or later, after you read this post ;-]
  2. To celebrate Allison’s award, we’re giving away a free subscription to VegNews Magazine! Just read this post and follow the directions at the end to enter. You’ll have lots of ways to enter and the winner can choose the printed version or the tree-free version. I’ve seen the tree-free version and it’s pretty nifty and you can still print pages if you really gotta do that.

QUICK UPDATE:

The print version can be won by a US and Canadian citizen but the e-version would be delivered if the winner is from another country. I’m sorry that’s confusing.

Now, onward to yummy goodness that’s good for you.

Allison Creates a No-Fart Frittata: Yummy in the Tummy and Easy on the Gut

When I think of veganizing frittata or quiche, I automatically think of tofu as the egg susbstitute and then I give up because I’m not a big fan of tofu. It’s almost become the standard vegan crutch and too much soy can cause gastronomical issues in some people.

So when I saw that Allison had created a frittata without soy, I got super intrigued. Then I saw how simple it was to make and got really tweaked about the possibilities. I began fanticizing about using the basic mixture for quiche, terrines…even savory custards.

Then I got even more excited because I could use Allison’s recipe to make mini-frittatas for lunch bentos. This would be not only healthy but a yummy compassionate protein to go with a salad or side veggies. AND it would be easy to manage portion control, something I struggle with daily…ok, hourly.

Just before popping in the oven, I topped the frittata with Daiya cheese and asparagus spears. And I doubled the recipe so I’d have enough batter to make some mini frittatas in a muffin tin. I lined the tin with parchment to make them easier to remove later.

A great thing about frittata is that you can use almost any vegetable in the mix so it’s totally seasonal. Spring spinach and asparagus, Summer tomatoes and eggplant, Fall beans and zucchini, they’d all work well.

Italian Frittata

Reprinted here with permission by Allison Rivers Samson from her VeganizeIt! column in VegNews magazine. Any changes on my part are in parentheses or noted with asterisks.

6 servings, if you aren’t a hoarder.

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups water
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1  1/2 cups garbanzo bean flour
  • 1/4 cup margarine
  • 1 cup onion, quartered and cut into thin slices
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
  • 2 cups broccoli florets cut into small pieces*
  • 1/4 teaspoon kala namak

*After doubling the recipe, I added 1 box of chopped frozen spinach in lieu of doubling the broccoli. I also added about a cup of Daiya mozzarella shreds to the hot mixture and then used some extra as topping with the asparagus spears.

Steps:

  1. Oil a 9-inch tart pan (I used a pie plate). In a medium saucepan (large if you’re doubling recipe) over medium heat, add water and salt. Gently whisk in the garbanzo bean flour to combien completely. Whisk occasionally as the mixture begins to boil to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. As it begins to thicken, reduce heat to low and cook uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Meanwhile, place a saute pan over low-medium heat and add margarine and onions. Saute for 5 minutes, then add basil and marjoram and cook for another 5 minutes. Add broccoli and cook for an additional 5 minutes (this is where I added my defrosted spinach as well). Turn off heat.
  3. In a large bowl, combine cooked garbanzo bean mixture, vegetables and kala namak until well mixed. Spread evenly into oiled dish. Cool completely in the refrigerator for two hours. This step imparts the egg-like texture so don’t skip it.
  4. Preheat oven to 350, then bake frittata for 20 minutes (I baked for 30 because my oven is weird). Move frittata to broiler rack and broil for 3-5 minutes, until the top has browned (I have a small apartment-sized stove and skipped this step because the last time I used the broiler the smoke detector took issue).
The overall texture after baking is fluffy and creamy. The taste is also very yummy and savory due to sauteing the vegetables before blending.
When warm, the slices are a tad loose but they do firm up after cooling which will make them perfect for including in lunch bentos. I really gotta get a decent stove with a broiler that doesn’t cause too much smoke.

Tired Wench Tips:

  • This recipe required a set-up time of no less than two hours in the fridge. Overnight if possible. That means that it’s an easy make-ahead dish that only takes 20-30 minutes to cook when you’re ready. So make it Sunday for Monday morning breakfast or a quick comforting dinner after work.
  • Likewise, make ahead mini-frittatas in muffin tins to use in lunch boxes throughout the week. Accompany with a side salad and some fruit (strawberries, banana, apple, etc) for a healthy lunch.
  • Or do what I did and double the batch, make a frittata in a pie dish for dinner then make the minis for lunches.
  • If you’re a penny pincher, grate the broccoli stems and incorporate into the batter with the florets.
  • And my favorite tip, if you don’t feel like chopping a bunch of veggies, buy chopped frozen veggies instead. All you really must chop is the onion. Sorry, there’s no way around that.

Contest Update: we have a winner!

To be fare and increase the odds for actual entries, I removed the pingback comments and Allison’s comment so that only the 38 actual entries were left. THEN I ran the Random Number Generator and Moonsword won!

So Moonsword, just send your contact info to me at julia at snarkyvegan dot com and we’ll connect on getting you the subscription!

I will reinstate the pingbacks tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone for participating!

Now, About That Contest. You Remember Right?

You know you want it! VegNews magazine for free for a FULL YEAR!  There’s even a tree-free edition so the lucky winner can choose paper or pixels.

How to Enter.

This is so cool and really, not too hard. All you have to do is one or more of the following and then leave a comment stating that you did one of the following. BUT leave a separate comment for each of the following tricks you perform, eh? On Halloween, I’ll pull a number out of a block of tofu, well, actually, I’ll use a random number generator based on the number of entries via the comments to this post. Yep. So hop to it eh?

  1. Check out Allison’s website and comment on this post about the recipe you’d like to make for one entry.
  2. Tweet this message: I read about @AllisonsGourmet’s soy-free frittata recipe (http://bit.ly/pvlY9h) in @VegNews on @SnarkyVegan’s blog #vegan #giveaway
  3. Follow @AllisonsGourmet on Twitter
  4. Like Allison’s Gourmet on Facebook
  5. Follow @VegNews on Twitter
  6. Like VegNews Magazine on Facebook
  7. Follow @SnarkyVegan on Twitter
  8. Like SnarkyVegan on Facebook

Entries open until Halloween, Monday, October 31, 2011 12pm CST (that’s noon Chicago Standard Time ;-) Winner will be announced at 5pm on Halloween.