This kale, scallion, and feta frittata is perfect for breakfast or dinner—or any time of day, really. Serve with hash browns, biscuits, toast, fruit, or any egg-free side dish.
Rey Lopez for the Washington Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky
I am a big fan of breakfast and enjoy breakfast foods any time of the day.
Here’s what else I like about the concept of breakfast for dinner:
• If you’re in a dinner routine, breakfast for dinner is a fun way to shake things up.
• If you’re a parent, caregiver, or anyone who regularly cooks for kids, this is a great way to motivate little ones at dinner time.
• If you want to eat less meat, breakfast for dinner makes it easy to create hearty meals that don’t rely on it. Yes, bacon, sausage, ham, smoked fish and the like are all wonderful breakfast items, but meat isn’t the focus of most morning plates like it tends to be For dinner.
• If you’re trying to spend less on groceries, breakfast for dinner almost always uses less expensive ingredients than many foods we typically associate with evening meals (see above regarding meat and fish).
A frittata, in this case a kale, green onion and feta frittata, is ideal for breakfast or dinner, of course, you can enjoy it any time of the day… even in the morning! Serve with hash browns, biscuits, toast, sautéed greens, salad, fruit, or any egg-free side dish.
This recipe is a real road map. Any cooking green can be used in place of kale, any allium can be substituted for scallions, and any cheese can be substituted for feta. (You’ll find many more ideas in the list of substitutions below the recipe.)
This week made me think about some of my favorite breakfast memories. Two stand out. When I was a kid at summer camp, our counselor once told us that she couldn’t wait to go to sleep so she could wake up and eat breakfast. This moment has stuck with me all these years. When I feel really excited about a meal I’m waiting for, I remember his unwavering enthusiasm. I love that food gives us something so satisfying to look forward to.
My other favorite memory of breakfast is not a specific moment, but the blur of the mornings I first spent with Grace. We have now been married for over a decade, but those early days were so exciting and we wanted to extend all the time we had together. This included mornings when we tried to extend our days with big stacks of pancakes and big breakfast boards with fruit, toast, cheese and jars of jam and honey. In fact, I wrote in the Washington Post about the pancakes Grace regularly made for us (we’re babies in that photo!), and how their diagnosis of type 1 diabetes as an adult changed some of how we cook and eat together and how we care for each other.
I wrote this article in 2018, just three years after Grace’s diagnosis. Now that six years have passed, I have to say that we have both become much more relaxed about what and how we eat. We trust our body more and continue to try to be as kind to it as possible. Overall, we approach food in our house with more flexibility and action: we both eat what we want to eat, when we want to eat it. And yes, we still love breakfast, no matter what time we have it. Especially when it’s for dinner.
•••
Made with a whole bunch of green onions sautéed until very sweet, this frittata also has lots of kale and salty feta cheese.
Rey Lopez for the Washington Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky
Kale, Green Onion and Feta Frittata
Made with a whole bunch of green onions sautéed until very sweet, this frittata also has lots of kale and salty feta cheese. It’s perfect for breakfast or dinner – or any time of day, really. Serve with hash browns, biscuits, toast, fruit, or any egg-free side dish.
Storage: Refrigerate for up to 2 days.
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch (3 ounces) green onions, ends trimmed, thinly sliced
1 bunch (8 ounces) kale of any type, hulled and chopped
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
8 large eggs
pinch of fine salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.
In a large (12-inch) ovenproof skillet over medium heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the green onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until just softened, about 4 minutes. Add the kale and cook, stirring frequently, until wilted, about 2 minutes. (It will seem like a lot at first, but it will wilt quickly.) If you need to prod the kale, cover the pan with a lid, large dish, or baking sheet to help it steam. Stir in the feta and remove from the heat.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, salt and pepper until well combined. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the kale mixture, pressing the greens to submerge them in the eggs. (They will not be completely covered.) Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until the eggs are set, puffed and browned in spots. Cut into quarters and serve.
Substitutions: Don’t have kale on hand or don’t like it? Use any cooking greens of your choice, such as spinach, collard greens, dandelion greens, or chard. Instead of green onions, use red, yellow or spring onions. No feta? Any cheese of your choice, including non-dairy. Looking for meat? Add cooked and crumbled breakfast sausage or bacon to the frittata. Cooking for a crowd? Double the recipe, transfer the kale mixture to a 9 x 13 baking dish after sautéing, add the eggs and bake in the baking dish. Want more wealth? Serve with a mixture of sour cream or labneh diluted with a little lemon juice and seasoned with minced garlic and salt.
Serves 4 to 6 (makes one 12-inch frittata)
Nutrition per serving, based on 6: 202 calories, 4 g carbohydrates, 265 mg cholesterol, 15 g fat, 2 g fiber, 12 g protein, 5 g saturated fat, 377 mg sodium, 1 g sugar
— From cookbook author Julia Turshen.
