Rustic Frittata

This Rustic Frittata is a copycat recipe and the most requested morning meal of my oldest child. It’s my recreation of the Frittata Rustica offered at First Watch, a breakfast cafe chain she enjoys. On the menu, theirs is described as

A classic Italian-style omelet with kale, house-roasted Crimini mushrooms, onions and tomatoes topped with Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Served with ciabatta toast.

For my version, we wanted a higher vegetable to egg ratio, and she likes burrata or fresh mozzarella on top instead of grated cheese. So that’s what I did! Read on for more details.

Rustic Frittata Ingredients

Feel free to jump to the full recipe, but here are useful notes about the ingredients you will need to make this Rustic Frittata recipe:

• Large eggs: The recipe calls for six, and it is admittedly very heavy on the vegetables, they’re almost just like a binder to keep them together. Refer to the pictures for an example. If you’d like more egg to filling I’d either reduce each amount of vegetables by a third or add two extra eggs and up the seasoning a tad. FYI: I measured the vegetables before I sliced and diced them. In my (and most) recipes if I call for ‘sliced mushrooms‘ that means to measure them already sliced, but if I call for ‘mushrooms, sliced‘ that means to measure them whole and slice them up after.
• Heavy cream: Any milk will do, including plant-based, but I’d go for heavy cream or half and half: they add a smooth, silky texture and more body to the custard.
• Mushrooms: I used a mixture of brown, baby Bella, shitake, and crimini that I found at the grocery store in the Rustic Frittata pictured. I’ve also used only crimini, and only baby bella.
• Grape tomatoes: Or cherry, whatever. The baby ones!
• Shallot, Garlic: Yellow onion could suffice in a pinch for the shallot.
• Baby kale: Grown-up kale is a little too strong and too chewy for our tastes in this one, but baby kale is great! Spinach would also be fine.
• Fresh Mozzarella (Ovoline, Bocconcini, Ciliegine, Pearls): I generally purchase fresh mozzarella balls from the cheese section of my local market, and in the grocery store you’ll usually find the best selection in the deli section. Sometimes they will be packed in water.
• Pecorino Romano: Romano is the perfect salty, nutty, sharp flavor to top off this Rustic Frittata. Parmesan would be fine as well, but I’d make sure it was aged at least.
• Salted Butter: For wilting the kale and lining the skillet we’ll bake our frittata in. If you opt for unsalted you’ll want to add a pinch to the kale while it’s cooking.
• Olive Oil: We only use a bit of it for roasting the vegetables, and it can be substituted for the salted butter when you wilt the kale.
• Kosher salt, Herbes de Provence, freshly cracked black pepper: Flavor. Use all of them to your taste.

How to Make this Rustic Frittata 

Full instructions are included in the recipe below, but here is a basic overview of what you’ll need to do, along with some important tidbits to help you make the most of this Rustic Frittata recipe:

• Start roasting. Preheat your oven to 425°F and grease a medium sheet pan or line it with a silicone liner. Add your mushrooms, tomatoes, garlic, and shallot to the pan. Sprinkle over a pinch of kosher salt and drizzle on about a teaspoon of olive oil. Toss to coat them in the salt and oil, then spread them out in an even layer. Roast on the top rack of the oven for 30 minutes.
• Wilt down the kale. When the vegetables are almost ready to be pulled from the oven place a heat-safe skillet – preferably cast iron – over medium heat and add the butter. Once the butter has melted add the baby kale. Sprinkle on some kosher salt, then saute until the kale has completely wilted. It acts a lot like spinach: it’ll reduce to almost nothing so don’t panic that it seems like a lot at first.
• Beat the eggs. In a medium-sized mixing bowl beat together the eggs, heavy cream, and herbes de Provence, and 1/2 tsp of kosher salt. Set it aside.
• Build the frittata. Push the roasted vegetables from the sheet pan directly into the skillet with the kale. Toss it all together, then spread it out along the surface of the pan. Pour in the egg custard, then tilt the pan or use a utensil to make sure the custard is evenly distributed.
• Bake it! Bake in the upper half of the oven for 15-10 minutes, until everything is set and the edges are golden brown. If you grab the pan and shake it a bit, there shouldn’t be any jiggle in the center.
• Cool and serve. Remove the Rustic Frittata from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen it. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let rest for half an hour or so. Cut into slices like a pizza and serve.

What To Serve With Your Rustic Frittata

This Rustic Frittata is great on its own, but my family’s brains won’t let them feel full unless there were multiple items offered at mealtime so I always serve it alongside something else. Pictured you see a slice plated with some beef bacon and croissant toast. This is a winning combination!

My homemade Turkey Sausage and How High? Buttermilk Biscuits would be another great pairing. I’ve also gone the spring mix dressed lightly with a lemony balsamic vinegarette route, to be traditional to the restaurant. My kid likes to pile those on top of the frittata, shake on some hot sauce, and go to work.

I hope you’ll come back and leave a rating and let me know what you thought if you make this! If you do so on social media make sure to find me and tag me! I’m @deepfriedhoney everywhere except Twitter (I’m @friedhoney there). Scroll down for the recipe and the Pinterest pin!

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