Sweet roasted fennel, shiitake mushrooms, tender golden potatoes, spinach, crispy turkey bacon, melty truffle cheese and herbs baked into a wholesome & incredibly flavorful skillet frittata. 
the frittata
The frittata has always been a dinner staple for me. (It’s perfect for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or an appetizer as well. I just really love it for dinner.) The frittata is versatile, healthy, filling, delicious, cooks very quickly in a skillet, and makes wonderful leftovers. You can customize it with nearly any vegetable, meat, cheese, herb, or seasoning that you have on-hand. For me, the absolute essentials are:
- pasture-raised eggs
- cheese
- meat/seafood like bacon, sausage, ham, crab, smoked salmon
- starchy/root vegetable like potatoes
- allium vegetable like onion, garlic, chives, shallots, leeks
- low-starch vegetable like mushrooms, peppers, spinach
- salt and pepper
- herbs or spices
Roast, sauté, steam, or get out leftover cooked veggies. Pan-fry the meat until crispy. Whisk the eggs with a touch of cream and the spices. Then combine everything together in a hot skillet and bake for just 10 minutes. That’s an entire meal, jam-packed with nutrients and out-of-bounds flavor, ready to serve.
The special ingredient in this version is a new favorite of mine: fennel!
the deal with fennel
Fennel is a member of the carrot family, in-season from fall to early spring. It has a bulky bulb, fibrous stalks, and feathery fronds, which are all edible. (It looks kind of like an onion that’s growing celery out the top, but it’s actually not related to the onion). It is native to southern Europe and translates to the Greek word “marathon,” referring to the famous plain and Battle of Marathon (“field of fennel”).
Iconically, fennel is the vegetable that tastes like licorice. This can be a turn-off for many, and I get it… Licorice isn’t exactly my first choice in the candy isle. However, the flavor of fennel bulb is much subtler than licorice, and, when roasted, it has the most beautiful, complex sweetness that outshines even the sweetest onion on the market.
I typically chop off the bulb, slice it, and roast the majority of the sliced fennel bulb with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper at 400º for about 30 minutes. This roasted fennel is perfect for pairing with other roasted veggies as a side dish, or adding to egg dishes, soups, beans, pastas, pizzas, and more throughout the week. It tastes incredible and adds an indescribable sweetness to savory winter dishes. I also like to leave some of the fennel bulb raw and shave it for a fresh crunch in salads and slaw. (Stay tuned for my favorite apple & fennel slaw.)
This roasted fennel & mushroom frittata explodes with flavor and texture from a few star ingredients:
- pasture-raised eggs (The most important part! The quality of the eggs makes a huge difference in taste and nutrition, so opt for pasture-raised eggs with really dark orange yolks. The very best I can find are blue and brown varieties. You can replace 1-2 of the whole eggs with egg whites, as I have in these photos; your frittata will just be a bit thinner and lighter.)
- sweet, caramelized roasted fennel bulb
- smoky, crispy bacon (I like Applegate turkey bacon)
- earthy, rich, & buttery shiitake mushrooms
- tender golden baby potatoes
- sautéed onion and garlic
- dried herbs de Provence
- sea salt, black pepper, +/- Aleppo pepper for an extra kick
- sautéed baby spinach
- truffle-infused cheese (The truffle part is optional, but if you are able to get gouda or aged Italian cheese “al tartufo,” it adds unreal flavor that takes the dish to a whole new level. If not, then a delicately sweet fontina or smoked gouda/cheddar works beautifully. Alternatively, you can finish the frittata with a drizzle of truffle oil. I would be very cautious with truffle-seasoned salts, as these can easily become overpowering.)
Roasted Fennel & Mushroom Frittata
Sweet roasted fennel, shiitake mushrooms, tender golden potatoes, spinach, crispy turkey bacon, melty truffle cheese and herbs baked into a wholesome & incredibly flavorful skillet frittata.
Notes
*You can replace 1-2 of the whole eggs with egg whites (shown in these photos); your frittata will just be a bit thinner and lighter.
**If you are able to get truffle-infused gouda or aged Italian cheese (such as moliterno al tartufo), it adds unreal flavor that takes the dish to a whole new level. Otherwise, a delicately sweet fontina, smoked gouda, or smoked cheddar works beautifully. Another option is to add a drizzle of truffle oil after removing the frittata from the oven.
This 10-inch frittata makes enough for 2-3 generous dinner-sized servings, or 4-6 small plates.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup fennel bulb, sliced (from about 1/4 fennel bulb)
- 1-2 tsp olive oil, divided
- 150g golden or multi-color baby potatoes (about 1 cup, chopped)
- 2-3 slices bacon (I use turkey bacon)
- 1 Tbsp white wine
- 1/4 cup sliced yellow onion
- 3 oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 5-6 large eggs*
- 1 Tbsp half & half or heavy cream
- 1.5 - 2 oz truffle gouda (sub fontina, smoked gouda, smoked cheddar, or combination of cheeses with aged moliterno al tartufo)**
- 1 tsp dried Herbs de provence
- 1/8 - 1/4 tsp sea salt, to taste
- ground black pepper, to taste
- Aleppo pepper, to taste (optional)
- Fleur de sel for topping, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF.
- Roast the fennel: On a sheet pan lined with foil, spread out the sliced fennel bulb. Toss with about 1/2 tsp olive oil and a sprinkle salt and pepper. Transfer to the oven and roast 30 minutes, or until tender and beginning to char. (You can roast the entire fennel bulb with 1 - 1.5 tsp olive oil and store the rest in the fridge. See post above for ideas for leftover roasted fennel.)
- To steam the potatoes: Chop the baby potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Place in a steamer basket over 1-2 inches boiling water in a saucepot. Cover and steam about 11 minutes, or until fork-tender. Remove from heat. To boil the potatoes: Fill a small saucepot with water (enough to cover the potatoes). Bring to a vigorous boil, and add the whole baby potatoes. Boil about 15 minutes, depending on the size, until fork-tender. Remove from heat, then transfer the potatoes to cutting board. When cool enough to handle, chop into bite-size pieces.
- In a 10-inch nonstick, oven-safe skillet, cook the bacon over medium-low heat on each side until crisp. Remove from heat and set aside. When cool, tear into small pieces.
- If you used pork bacon, remove excess grease from the pan, leaving just about 1 tsp. If you used leaner turkey bacon, add up to 1 tsp olive oil to the pan. Over medium heat, add the onion and mushrooms. Spread them out in the pan, and sear for 2-3 minutes undisturbed. Then, add the wine while scraping up browned bits from the pan. Continue to sauté 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in garlic and cook 1-2 minutes longer, or until mushrooms and onion are tender and garlic is fragrant. Add roasted fennel, cooked diced potatoes, and spinach. Stir until spinach wilts. (If needed, add another splash of wine and cover the pan until the spinach wilts.) Turn off heat.
- Meanwhile, crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl. Whisk just until the yolks and whites are blended. Stir in the half & half or cream, herbs, salt, black pepper, and Aleppo pepper, if using. Mix just until evenly combined. (Whisking LESS results in a richer, creamy-soft texture of the eggs, which I prefer. For an airier, fluffier result, whisk more vigorously.)
- Sprinkle bacon pieces and shredded cheese evenly over the vegetables in the skillet. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the skillet, coating everything evenly.
- Transfer entire skillet to oven and bake 9-11 minutes, or until eggs are set. Use a potholder to remove skillet from oven. Finish with a sprinkle of fleur de sel +/- Aleppo pepper, to taste.
- Rest about 5 minutes, then slice with a spatula into slices. Makes 2-3 generous dinner-size servings, or 4-6 small plates.
Nutrition facts are calculated for 4 servings, using 6 whole eggs, 2 slices turkey bacon, and 1.5 oz gouda.
