Frittata di Spinaci e Portobello

Spinach and portobello mushroom frittata!

     At national chain restaurants, low rated restaurants, greasy spoon diners and places where the chef takes no pride in their cooking, frittatas are just thrown together and the presentation is not composed.  Many sloppy frittatas look like flat plate of garbage.  Considering the the price of breakfast pushes $10 at two bit restaurants nowadays, their is no excuse for a sloppy thrown together plate of food.  There is no excuse for using pre-made or imitation ingredients, instead of fresh.  A sloppy plate of breakfast food is worth less than $5, yet customers continually pay top dollar for lousy food.
     A spinach and portobello frittata with a menu price of $9 has a current food cost of less 5%.  Breakfast is the most profitable meal of the day in a restaurant.  During the last 10 years, restaurant breakfast food prices have increased dramatically, but the overall quality of the food has not improved.  The return of fine dining breakfast food has not happened.  High rated resorts and gourmet American diner style restaurants seem to be the only places where a breakfast customers can find food quality that justifies the price.
     Not many Italian restaurants are open for breakfast in America, but some do offer a sunday brunch.  Italian chefs do like serving composed frittatas.  I apprenticed in an Italian restaurant that served brunch and every frittata had a composed presentation.  Because the food looked nice, classy clientele frequented the restaurant and this enabled selling some pricy gourmet items for breakfast.
     In europe, fine breakfast food is the standard.  Presentations of breakfast food look nice, the menu item theme flavors are accurate and the food is cooked to perfection.  European chefs take pride in how their breakfast food looks and tastes and they do not ignore serving breakfast, like many American chefs do.  Many American chefs assign a crew to cook breakfast and they are never present while breakfast is served.  They only seem to concentrate on their evening dinner cuisine.  American chefs who actively participate in serving fine breakfast food do reap in some nice profits.  It does not take a genius to figure out that serving good looking, great tasting, high quality creative or traditional breakfast cuisine with a food cost of under 10% is something to jump all over!

     Marinara Sauce Garnish:
     A spoonful of tomato sauce is often used to garnish frittatas.  Italian restaurants always have tomato sauce on hand and so do many home kitchens.  A quick a la minute marinara style tomato sauce is fine for breakfast cuisine.  Italian San Marzano tomatoes require very little cooking time, so theye are best for this simple recipe.  Only a tiny amount of sauce is needed!
     Heat a small sauce pot over medium low heat.
     Add 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil.
     Add 1/4 teaspoon of minced garlic.
     Saute till the garlic becomes a golden color.
     Add 1/3 cup of imported Italian canned crushed San Marzano tomato.
     Add 1 small pinch of basil.
     Add 1 small pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
     Simmer the sauce for about 2 minutes, till the flavors combine and the sauce becomes thick.
     Keep the sauce warm on a stove top.      
    
     Spinach Saute: 
     Heat a saute pan over medium/medium low heat. 
     Add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil. 
     Add 1/4 teaspoon of minced garlic. 
     Saute till the garlic turns a golden color.
     Add 2 1/2 cups of baby spinach leaves. 
     Toss the spinach in the pan till the spinach becomes wilted. 
     Season with sea salt and black pepper. 
     Set the spinach aside on a dish. 
    
     Portobello Saute:
     Return the pan that was used to saute the spinach to medium/medium low heat. 
     Add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil.
     Add 2 to 3 sliced small portobello mushrooms. 
     Saute the mushroom till they become tender. 
     Set the mushrooms aside on a dish.
    
     Frittata di Spinaci e Portobello:
     Place 3 eggs in a mixing bowl. 
     Chop the wilted spinach. 
     Add the spinach to the eggs. 
     Whisk the spinach and eggs together. 
     Heat a non-stick saute pan over medium/medium low heat. 
     Add 3 pats of unsalted butter. 
     Add the egg and spinach mixture. 
     Even the edges of the frittata with a spatula. 
     When the bottom of the frittata becomes cooked firm, take the pan off of the heat.  The top half of the frittata should be loose uncooked eggs.
     Sprinkle a little bit of fine bread crumbs over the frittata. 
     Arrange the portobello mushroom slices on the frittata, so they look nice. 
     Sprinkle a little bit of finely grated parmesan cheese over the frittata. 
     Sprinkle 1 pinch of oregano over the frittata. 
     Place the frittata in a 325º oven. 
     Bake till the frittata becomes fully cooked, but not browned. 
     Slide the frittata onto a serving plate. 
     Place a little bit of the marinara sauce on the center of the frittata.
     Garnish with an Italian parsley sprig. 
    
     Any Italian tomato sauce can be used for the garnish.  I have posted many tomato sauce recipe in this blog.  Garnishing with tomato sauce is traditional.  Many great Italian restaurant chefs like to show off their tomato sauce with every opportunity.  A good tomato sauce is worth showing off!  The quickly made marinara recipe above is good too.
     The combination spinach, portabella, eggs and parmesan with a hint of garlic is nice for breakfast.  Yum!  Ciao Baby!  ...  Shawna