Green Chili Frittata
Omelets can get kind of boring. Heat up your breakfast or brunch with this Green Chili Frittata. Tomatoes, onions, and fresh cilantro give it a southwestern feel. Green chilies will pop on your palate. Serve with toasted bread, or a Mexican potato hash flavored with onions, peppers, and smoky cumin. But leave the salsa behind. This frittata is full of flavor. The only thing you’ll need is a dollop of sour cream to cool things off.
Ingredients (Serves 1)
2 eggs
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/2 roma tomato (chopped)
handful cilantro (chopped)
2 small serrano chilies (chopped)
1/2 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup shredded mexican cheese blend
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
Method
Set oven temperature to broil at 500 degrees. Break two eggs and whisk together in a bowl. Add chopped red onion, tomatoes, and cilantro. Mix well. Then add 1/2 cup milk, 1/4 cup cheese and whisk. Season with salt and pepper and mix well until dissolved. Grease a medium sized fry pan and heat over a stove at medium temperature. Once pan is hot, pour in egg mixture and let cook for about 3- 5 minutes or until the sides pull from the pan and underside is lightly browned. Transfer to top rack of oven (make sure it’s directly below the heat source) and cook another five minutes or until top is cooked. Slide onto a serving plate and cut into halves or thirds with a pizza slicer. Garnish with fresh cilantro and sour cream if desired and enjoy!
This appetizer is so simple, even my friends can make it. Simply caramelize onions over the stove, spread cream cheese evenly onto half of a tortilla, sprinkle with shredded mexican cheese, then top with onions and fold over and toast on a lightly greased stove. If you want to make a more “sophisticated” dish, substitute with goat cheese.
Ingredients (Serves about 4)
1 onion (sliced)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
4 tablespoons cream cheese
About 1/2 cup shredded mexican cheese
2 tortillas
Method
Slice onions and set aside. Heat up about 2 tablespoons oil in a fry pan over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, toss in onions and season with salt, pepper, and sugar. Cook until deeply caramelized, tossing in between. Once onions have caramelized, set aside and assemble quesadillas. Spread half cream cheese onto each of two tortillas. Do the same with the cheese and onions and fold over tops. Then brown over a fry pan, cut into small wedges, and serve.
Quesadillas are simple and fun: essentially, the Mexican version of a grilled cheese sandwich. However, by layering flavors and adding a few embellishments, you can take your standard quesadilla to newer heights. Part of the appeal lies in its minimal cooking time. A few minutes on either side, and the cheese is melted and bubbly. Here is a recipe I created just days ago, with ingredients that I had on hand. The result is an intensely flavored quesadilla that is perfect for an appetizer, lunch, or light dinner.
Ingredients: (serves 4)
1 15 oz can corn (or frozen corn)
1 green pepper (sliced)
1 yellow onion (sliced)
1/2 red pepper (sliced)
1 large jalapeno
Zest of 1 lime
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoon Lawry’s Taco Seasoning
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt to taste
2 clove garlic
1/4 cup cilantro
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
Method
Slice onion and peppers (julienne…strips) thinly. In a large pot or wok, heat up about 1/4 cup oil. Fry cumin seeds in oil and then add onions and peppers. Add sugar and stir. After few minutes, add cumin powder and Taco Seasoning and stir. Cook onions and peppers, seasoning with 1 teaspoon salt, until they have caramelized (reduced and browned). Set aside in large bowl. You will be using the SAME wok to cook the corn; do not clean it, as the corn will pick up residual flavor from the onions.
Chop garlic and jalapenos and combine with lime zest. Drain corn and set aside. Add more oil to the wok and toss in the corn. Next, add garlic, jalapenos, and lime zest. Season with salt. Cook these ingredients for about five minutes on medium heat, until corn develops color and garlic has cooked. Then add chopped cilantro.
Set corn and caramelized onions/peppers aside, and assemble your quesadillas. Place about 1/2 cup of cheese on one side of tortilla and top with onions/peppers, then corn. Top with second tortilla and cook on a flat pan on medium heat until golden brown.
