Vegetable Frittata with Tater Tot Crust

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Vegetable Frittata with Tater Tot Crust

Rachel Artus | May 7, 2020

• prep time: 15 minutes
• cook time: 45 minutes
• total time: 1 hour
• servings: 5-6

Ingredients:

¾ bag frozen tater tots
4-5 Tablespoons olive oil, or other plant-based oil
2 russet potatoes, cut 1/10th to 1/8th inch thick
¾ cup yellow onion, finely chopped
1 cup baby bella mushrooms, roughly chopped
¾ cup broccoli, roughly chopped
1 big handful fresh spinach
½ tablespoon fresh basil, chopped chiffonade style
5-6 large eggs
¼ cup of milk
2 Tablespoons roughly chopped cheddar cheese, or other cheese (optional)
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
Pinch of dried thyme
Sprinkle of crushed red pepper
Fresh chives for garnish

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil the base of a large cast-iron pan, or another large oven-safe sauté pan. Add about 2/3 of a bag of frozen tater tots, or enough to completely cover the base of the pan and place in the pre-heating oven.
   
   
2. While the tater tots soften in the oven, heat oil in a sauté pan on medium heat and add finely chopped yellow onion. Stir frequently to prevent burning.
   
3. In a separate sauté pan, heat oil on medium heat and add the thinly sliced potatoes. Add a pinch of dried thyme and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper, Kosher salt, and black pepper. Stir occassionally to ensure that potatoes cook evenly on each side.
   
   
4. Once the onions become fragrant and translucent, add chopped mushrooms and broccoli and stir occasionally. Add a handful of spinach to the vegetables with 5 minutes left of cooking. Continue sautéing potatoes on medium heat, ensuring that both sides of all slices are able to cook pan-side-down.
   
   
5. When the oven reaches 350 degrees F, remove the tater tots. Add black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder to the tater tots and mix. Then use a large slatted spoon (or fork) to flatten the tater tots into the base of the pan, creating a crust. Place the tater tot crust back in the oven for another 15 minutes, or until the sautéing vegetables and potatoes are soft and the tater tot crust becomes crispy.
   
   
6. In a medium bowl, beat 5-6 large eggs, milk, and a pinch of Kosher salt and black pepper. Remove the tater tot crust from the oven and spread the potatoes and vegetables evenly over the base of the crust. Sprinkle the cheese amongst the vegetables and pour the egg mixture over top. Feel free to tilt the pan to evenly spread the egg amongst the vegetables.
   
   
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until frittata is firm to the touch and there are no signs of runny egg. Garnish with fresh chives.

Place the tater tots in the pre-heating oven. This will allow the tater tots to soften so that you can create a crust. Notice that there is very little salt in this recipe. I’m usually a huge proponent for adding Kosher salt in all of my savory recipes to enhance flavor, but you don’t need that much here. This is because store-bought Tater Tots have a high sodium content, which make them super addicting, as well as the primary source of salt in this recipe. I always try and take note of which ingredients are typically pretty high in sodium begin with, like canned beans and some store-bought broths so that I can better control the flavor and avoid sitting down to a super salty meal (because I’ve definitely done that once or twice.)