Back on the block, my mother would make omelets for breakfast, lunch or dinner. This was long before the term “brunch” came into our lexicon. The omelet, for us, was just a regular meal. With breakfast or lunch, we would have the thing with a crusty loaf of bread. With dinner, we would have it with rice.
What we didn’t realize was that we were making a “frittata.” Now, a frittata is an Italian egg dish made by whisking eggs with milk or cream, and adding fillings like a vegetable, cheese or meat, and baked in a skillet. Our omelet was similar, since we cooked it on the stovetop. And we then finished it in the oven, with some cheese on top to create a golden finish. To us it was just a partially baked omelet. Whatever you call it, it’s a marvelous dish that, yes, as noted above, can even be served for dinner.
With our omelet we used anything that was available as a filling. Following that vein, in today’s dish, we add refried beans as a filling. That’s right, refried beans. It was an experiment on our part that worked out marvelously. Also, for this dish we use cheese slices, and it can be whatever you have on hand, be it cheddar, Swiss, pepper jack or even American cheese. So, try this one out, and discover what a Nuyorican omelet is all about. And, for the sake of consistency, I call it a frittata.
FRITTATA WITH REFRIED BEANS
Ingredients:
8 large eggs
¼ cup tablespoons milk or cream
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
¾ teaspoon oregano
2 (15.5 oz.) cans refried beans
3 tablespoons olive oil
5-6 cheese slices of your choice
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Crack eggs into a bowl. Add milk or cream, salt, garlic powder and oregano. Whisk to combine.
3. Stir in refried beans and mix well.
4. Heat oil over medium heat in large skillet (12-inch). Let me add that, in this round, we prefer cast-iron (it’s a Nuyorican thing).
5. Top and cover with the cheese slices. Place in oven and bake about 15-20 minutes or until the eggs are set and the top is melted and
slightly golden.
Yield: 6 servings.