Mushroom and onion frittata

I was cooking a recipe, coq au vin blanc, which calls for mushrooms to be cooked until they start to dry out and become browned with a nice nutty flavor. I thought that mushrooms like this would be good in a frittata. Now what to include with the mushrooms? Since the mushrooms would be really browned, what about complementing with something else browned, carmelized onions?

The browned mushroom and carmelized onions cook in very different ways and will have to be done separately. I simply sliced the mushrooms, using crimini (also called baby bella) to get a little more robust flavor. I wanted the onions bigger than diced. I cut a very thick slice of a large onion, cut that into 6 pieces, and let the rings separate. I chose then end of the onion with the thicker rings to make those pieces a bit larger.

The quantities I estimated for the mushroom and onions seem very large for a 3-egg frittata. But there’s lot of space between the pieces in a measuring cup and the mushrooms especially become much smaller as they are cooked. The photo shows the results.

1–1/2 to 2 cups sliced crimini mushrooms
3/4 to 1 cup onion pieces
olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar

3 eggs
more olive oil if needed

Heat oil in a pan. Add the mushroom and cook on moderately high heat. Brown the mushrooms until they are a deep golden brown.They will release some water during the process, but keep them going. They’ll begin to dry up and get brown and delicious.

Heat oil in a pan. Add the onions. Cook on medium to low heat until the onions soften and become translucent, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle on a small amount of sugar, stir, and continue cooking until they are carmelized to your liking, probably 10 to 15 minutes.

Put the eggs into a good-sized mixing bowl and beat just to mix them up. Add a bit more oil to the pan if needed and let it get hot. Add a small amount of egg to the pan to set the bottom of the frittata to prevent sticking. Turn the heat down to medium low. Mix the mushrooms and onions into the eggs and pour the mixture into the pan. Cook this for about 5 minutes to set the bottom and sides.

Preheat the broiler. When the 5 minutes cooking on the stove are up, place the pan under the broiler, about 6 to 7 inches below. Cook until the top is set and just starts to brown. This is about 1–1/2 to 2 minutes for me, but watch closely.

Remove from the broiler, loosen up the sides with a spatula if necessary, and slide the frittata out onto the serving plate.