I love a good frittata at any time. But this one with walnuts and kale is especially substantial and fab for a meat-free dinner where you won’t be missing the meat (my Irishman didn’t). It’s also good for lunches the next day.
And I love that it’s a complete meal on its own. No need to add a sauce or side salad.
Just make sure the tray you use to cook it is a similar size to mine. Or if it’s smaller, expect the cooking time to be longer. And for a larger tray it will cook more quickly – it’s all about the surface area / depth of the mixture.
Hearty Walnut, Kale & Goats Cheese Frittata
Ingredients
- 1 bunch kale frozen OK, sliced
- 6 eggs
- small bunch chives chopped
- 2 tablespoons cream or water
- 100 g roast walnuts
- 100 g goats cheese 1 pack, sliced
Instructions
- Turn your oven on to 200C (400F). If using frozen kale squeeze it dry and skip to the next step. For fresh greens heat a big glug of oil in a medium saucepan on a medium high heat. Add sliced kale and a splash of water. Cook covered, stirring every now and then until kale is wilted down. About 5 minutes.
- Mix eggs, chives, cream or water and a big pinch of salt in a bowl. Line a small baking dish (about 22cm x 28cm / 8.5in x 11 in dimensions) lined with baking paper. Or a round 28cm (11in) spring form pan will also work.
- When the kale is cooked, spread it over the base of your baking dish. Pour over the egg mixture. Scatter over walnuts and slices of goats cheese.
- Bake frittata for 12-14 minutes (for fresh greens) or 15-20 minutes (for defrosted) or until the egg is set and the cheese has browned a little. Serve hot or at room temp.
WINE MATCH: A crisp Sauvignon blanc.
Variations & Substitutions
short on time – use pre-cooked greens or defrosted frozen spinach or other greens. Squeeze greens to remove extra moisture and expect to add another 5 minutes to the cooking time. Or skip the greens and serve with baby spinach leaves on the side (the frittata may not take as long to cook so check after 10 minutes).
vegan / egg-free – try these buddha bowls instead.
more substantial (carb lovers) / family-friendly – serve with hot buttered toast or warm pita bread. Or add some cooked sweet potato or potato or pasta as well as or instead of the kale.
more substantial (low carb) – more walnuts, more cheese or more eggs. Serve with some avocado.
Low FODMAP – don’t use the stems from the kale.
different greens – any leafy green will work. Or any other cooked veg. You could use frozen greens – no need to cook first just defrost, squeeze dry and add to the frittata.
nut-free – replace walnuts with roast sweet potato (or other root veg) or cooked legumes (chickpeas would be my first choice) or cooked pasta.
dairy-free – use water instead of cream. Skip the goats cheese and serve with pesto, tahini lemon sauce or hummus drizzled over.
carnivore – bacon, salami, prosuitto or ham.
Problem Solving Guide
bland – more salt or grate over some parmesan.
too dry – overcooked eggs! Next time get it out earlier. For now a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil will help.
no oven – cook kale as per recipe. Then stir in eggs and cream / water and cook stirring until eggs are scrambled and creamy. Serve in bowls with goats cheese and walnuts on top.
too watery – sounds you didn’t squeeze the frozen greens dry or the frittata isn’t cooked enough. IF you think it’s the latter pop back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes.
sticking to the pan – next time line the pan with baking paper. Don’t use foil. For now allow to cool so the eggs can release.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
kale – will keep for a few weeks in a plastic bag in the fridge. Or for longer if cooked as per the recipe. Can be frozen.
eggs – will keep in the fridge for weeks or use for another meal.
chives – best to use for another meal.
cream – unopened cartons will generally keep in the fridge for a few weeks. If you need to store for longer, just pop in the freezer in a sealed container. Or freeze in icecube trays so you can easily defrost just what you need.
roasted walnuts – keep them in the pantry.
goats cheese – if unopened it usually has a shelf life of a few weeks in the fridge. If it is opened, will only keep for a few days so use for another meal or freeze.
Prepare Ahead
Just cook as per the recipe. Will keep in the fridge for a week. Don’t freeze. Serve cold, at room temp or warm gently in the oven.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
I think I will try this recipe but I will try a different nut. I think it will taste good with pistachios or cashews for their sweetness.
YES pistachios OR cashews would be amazing!
Such a good recipe!! I used defrosted curly kale as the base and subbed sweet potatoes for the walnuts, since I used lots of walnuts in the sweet treat recipe. The goat cheese adds a powerful flavor while the chives are quite subtle (probably because I used freeze dried).
I served with buttered sourdough toast and fresh avocado. Yum!
ooh YUM Claire! Love your substitutions
I’m choosing this recipe to make next week!
It was great! I sautéed a little onion before adding the kale. Super easy recipe! I really like what you can do with just a few, wholesome ingredients. Also – using the parchment paper? Genius!! Made it so easy to remove from the dish, and easy to cut portions. I’m going to have leftovers for breakfast, too. Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed Anne!
My first recipe and boy what a sweet surprise. So easy and tasty. My first simplemealplans cooking. Quite a forgiving recipe, I had a (too) big baking pan (didn’t stop to think about cookware when preparing) but went for it anyway and added an extra egg. A fair bit of the kale was exposed, as the egg mixture spread out and I ended up with crispiness which was a bonus for my kid who likes kale chips but not cooked. The goats and cheese and walnuts are perfect partners. Thank you Jules.
*goat cheese
Love this Stav! Especially that you thought to add the extra egg with your larger baking pan.
And especially love that your kid likes kale chips – my boys are a work in progress on that front!
Excited to hear what you cook next 🙂
Jx
This is the second time I’ve tried this, and although I didn’t make a note of it at the time, I recall that whole walnuts (the recipe doesn’t say anything about breaking them up) were a bit much on the topping, so I crushed them this time and put some on the base with the greens. I was intending to add some zucchini, but seemed to have more than enough greens left over from the Saag Chicken, so grilled them and a capsicum and had them on the side.
I have come to the conclusion that, like chick peas, walnuts are all very well for other applications but are too fibrous and inherently dry to work with eggs, and I should have had the grilled veg in the eggs and the walnuts on the side. I used to have a recipe like your Baked Zucchini Frittata, and must try that again in the future.
Isn’t it funny how different we can be Mark – I love the whole chunks of walnut in this. But chunks on the side is an excellent option too.
🙂