INDIVIDUAL CANADIAN BACON AND LEEK FRITTATAS

 I made these little yummies last weekend and thought what a perfect breakfast delight for special occasions like Easter morning!!  I loved the parchment paper presentation and it was really easy to do!

Frittatas are basically a quiche without the crust so you are cutting the carbs!  I love either but since I am a carb girl (not a good thing), I like when I can cut out some calories and carbs too!

I love green onions, sweet onions, yellow onions, scallions....I think you get the idea.  But I had never cooked with leeks.  They look like a big, fat green onion.  My son is going to culinary school and his professor was saying that leeks were similar to a green onion but with a milder flavor.  I found this recipe on a blog called
In Sock Monkey Slippers.  She wrote that she had a 2-1/2 year old daughter who was a picky eater but loved these little frittatas.  I am mentioning this because it might be tempting just to use green onions in place of the leeks but for a picky eater, it might just be the difference between liking the recipe or not. 

Leeks tend to be sandy so they have to be washed thoroughly.  I found it to be very easy to wash them and the pictures below will show you how to get them clean!

I could only get 7 little frittatas out of this recipe so you might want to double it, depending on your needs.  I probably could have gotten 8 but the recipe said to leave a space between each cup and I did not want to start another pan.  I kind of followed that advice but I did squeeze that 7th one in there to keep from using another pan.  Also, I am not a huge portion eater (does that make sense) so I ate 2 with some fruit.  I tried a new recipe, a blueberry streusel,  that day but I didn't care for it which is what I wanted to serve with it.  It would make a perfect little breakfast....Individual frittatas, blueberry streusel or other sweet breakfast item...cinnamon rolls for example...with a cup of fruit.

I may try this recipe again with different ingredients....bacon, pancetta, ground sausage, mushrooms, ham....so many choices.

I'm thinking you could make these in the mini muffin tin without using the parchment paper and these would be perfect to bring to a little brunch. 

HAPPY EASTER!

INDIVIDUAL CANADIAN BACON AND LEEK FRITTATAS

 

2 cups Leeks, washed and chopped (about 2 cups)

1 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 teaspoon Butter

3/4 teaspoon Sea Salt

4 Eggs

3/4 cup Milk

3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded (I used a blend of pre-packaged Italian Cheeses because I had them handy)

1/2 cup Canadian Bacon, chopped (about 6 slices)

1/4 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper

pinch of Freshly Grated Nutmeg

Parchment Paper

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

 

Slice the root ends off the 2 Large Leeks.

 

Making a cut at the dark green leaves, cut the tops off.

 

 

Slice the leeks down the center vertically, exposing the ribs.

 

 

While running the inside of leeks under water, fan your fingers across the inside of the leeks to loosen and rinse any sand away.

 

Cut the Leeks into 1/4 inch crescents to measure 2 cups.

 

 

 

 

Over medium-low heat, heat the 1 teaspoon olive oil and melt 1 teaspoon butter. 

Add the leeks and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt.  Stir.

 

 

 

Saute for 5-10 minutes, until the leeks become soft.  Turn off heat.

 

 

In a large bowl, whisk the 4 eggs and 3/4 cup milk thoroughly.

 

 

Chop the 6 slices (1/2 cup) Canadian bacon into cubes.

 

 

To the egg and milk mixture, add the Canadian bacon, leeks, 3/4 cup cheese, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg.

 

 

 

If you do not have one of these little gadgets...you must get one!  They make using fresh nutmeg, cheese, and grating citrus a snap!

Stir to combine.

 

Cut 5" X 5" squares of parchment paper.

 

  Place parchment squares in a muffin tin, leaving a space between each cup.  (I think next time I will put a parchment square in each cup because I don't know what the relevance is of this step.  Maybe because this recipe only makes half of a pan so it spaces them out for even baking)

 

Fill parchment cups with the egg and leek mixture.

NOTE:  I poured little bit of water in each empty muffin space.  However, I googled why I would do this and it says...if you are using a tin muffin pan, it keeps the pan from warping.  If your pan warps it is a sign of a low-quality pan so get rid of it...don't kill the messenger, I am just relaying information but it does make sense.  I love to use this Pampered Chef ceramic muffin baker.  It cooks and browns evenly. 

 

Place in oven for 25 minutes.

 

 

Remove the frittatas from the muffin tin and allow to cook slightly before eating.

 

 

 

 

 

CLICK HERE FOR PRINTABLE RECIPE

ENJOY!