Hot Italian Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Frittata

How much of this can I do in advance? The attraction for the recipe is that you can serve to overnight guests without last minute prep, but it never says what can be done in advance. Can it be assembled night before and then just baked morning of?

Try spinach (cook then drain well before adding to skillet). Or zuchini (grate it, coat in a dusting of breadcrumbs to absorb liquid released in baking, add raw to skillet).

i have made this frittata twice, prepped veggies & meat & portioned cheeses 36 hours before baking. I pre-cooked greens per step one and sausage per step 2, and onions and herbs per step 3. The next am, i put everything on the counter for 30 minutes, then heated the pan with tsp olive oil for 1 minute, removed pan from heat, added the onions greens sausage mixture to the pan, followed step 4 for the cheese and eggs, then baked per step 5 ...perfect results both times... rave reviews.

I just made this and a 10 inch skillet is large enough.

Great recipe; I used goat cheese in place of the ricotta

Very good cut in half and served for 2 for dinner or 4 if you serve with a simple salad and bread. Do not get hung up on the exact ingredients (I used bacon, roasted asparagus, roasted tomatoes, fresh dill and the cheese I had on hand. The onions and ricotta are the two ingredients I would not change. Follow the layering instructions. You can also broil this to speed up the process.

Adding to my earlier comments, this is now my "take to a desert island" recipe. Made more than half a dozen times, each time with excellent outcome. (I do cook the rapini to start in step 1 per Viola Buitoni's technique: http://zesterdaily.com/cooking/dont-bitter-just-cook-rapini-better ) Great for B L or D served hot, warm or even room temp. Travels well. Reheats well. Can be 1 dish meal. Plays well w/ sparkling wine which I'll take to that desert island too. Perfect.

Try spinach or kale

I bet regular broccoli or blanched, drained spinach would work well.

I used a mixture of 70/30 baby kale/watercress, just to have that desired touch of bitterness that broccoli rabe has, which is a classic pairing with the sausage.

Hi Kelly, I imagine what your family doesn't like about broccoli rabe may be the bitter quality? If you want to retain the "floweret" & stem texture of the broccoli rabe it might be a good option for you to use broccolini. (A hybrid of broccoli and Chinese broccoli (gai-lan) I think.) That would be a similar texture but mild flavor. Or you could try gai-lan (Chinese Broccoli) for the leaf quality of broccoli rabe but gai-lan can have a bit of bitterness too.

As someone who eats broccoli rabe obsessively... I find that it needs a quick blanch to give it a texture that is pleasant for eating... then you can sauté it or do whatever you want with it. Blanching for just a minute, which this recipe calls for, is hardly "boiled broccoli."

This was very yummy. You can do the cooking of the everything prior to putting on the ricotta, cheese, and eggs on the stove and then combining everything in a regular baking pan about the size of a cake pan. You could do this all the night before and then the morning of add the ricotta, cheeses, and eggs and bake. You do not need a cast iron fry pan to do this recipe.

I recently "discovered" frittata's and they are perfect for the dietary needs for me and my husband as we both need to eat lots of protein. I plan to make some individual ones in my tart dishes, and cannot wait to try your flavors especially the cheese combo's and the broccoli rabe which I haven't tried before. On a personal note, I work full time and take care of my husband so any recipe that saves time and is easy is a blessing.

Mallika, To make this meat free sub cooked potato in equivalent measure for the sausage. Broccoli rabe "loves" sausage (& eggs & cheese) but it also loves potatoes. :-) Made this w/ sausage and w/out for vegetarian diners. Use Yukon Gold or Russet, boil until just tender, cool. Peel or not. Cut in lengthwise quarters then crosswise into bite size pieces. Saute in a little olive oil to toast up just a bit. Use instead of the sausage.