My Rainbow Chard Frittata comes from early summer farmers market finds, like beautiful, neon rainbow chard and the garlic scapes I found snaking through my CSA box.
Frittatas are always a great option for any produce you don’t quite know what to do with, like those garlic scapes, or that’s just pushed past its prime in your fridge – any Swiss chard will do here (sadly, the vibrancy of the rainbow chard fades when cooked anyway), as the frittata makes great use of the entire chard, leaves and stems/thick ribs, but spinach is a suitable substitute if chard is unavailable. My Rainbow Chard Frittata has more dairy than you are probably used to in a frittata, but it’s also creamier and yummier than your standard frittata. The extra dairy lends a little more custard-like texture, though it’s not quite as soft as the custard of a quiche (or as long cooking), it’s a happy medium for a weeknight.
Rainbow Chard Frittata
Ingredients
3 tablespoons avocado oil or other neutral oil, divided
1 large bunch rainbow chard (about 9 oz), stems/large ribs separated from leaves and cut in ½ inch slices (about 1 cup), leaves cut into 1/2 inch wide ribbons (about 3 cups packed)
1 medium yellow onion, diced medium (1 ½ cups)
10 garlic scapes, thin stringy end with bulb removed, remainder sliced thin (1/2 cup)
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ - ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes to taste
½ cup whole milk Greek yogurt
½ cup + 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
12 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoons coarse kosher salt
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 oz fresh goat’s cheese (chevre), broken into small pieces
How to make Rainbow Chard Frittata
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Heat a large nonstick, ovenproof skillet over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons avocado oil. Once oil is hot, add diced onions and sauté until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add sliced rainbow chard stems/ribs and garlic scapes, mix to combine, and continue to sauté for another 5 minutes until the rainbow chard stems and ribs soften and the onions start to brown. Add minced garlic and crushed red pepper flakes, stir to combine and cook until garlic is very fragrant, about 1 minute.
While the onion, rainbow chard stems and ribs, and garlic scapes cook, prepare egg mixture. In a large bowl, whisk together Greek yogurt and heavy cream until smooth. Whisk in eggs until fully combined. Mix in salt and black pepper. Gently stir in the ribboned chard leaves, until well mixed.
Add 1 tablespoon avocado oil to the vegetables in the skillet and stir to ensure bottom and sides of pan are coated. Reduce heat to low and add egg mixture to the skillet and gently stir so the onions, stems, and leaves are evenly distributed throughout the eggs and chard leaves, continue stirring to help cook the rainbow chard down so that it wilts some and becomes even with the egg mixture, about 3 minutes. Increase heat back to medium, spread crumbled goat cheese over top and gently stir once more to help distribute the cheese, but you don’t want to completely melt the cheese in, you want to leave it in crumbles. Let cook over medium heat until the edges just start to set, about 3 minutes more. Transfer entire skillet to oven and bake for 20 minutes until just set, the center should not jiggle if you gently shake the pan; if not set, cook for another 3-5 minutes. Some spots might puff up during baking, but once removed from the oven they will deflate for a level frittata. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
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