The idea to combine these three powerful flavours came from a lunch I had at Highroad – a fave local cafe. They served it in the form of poached eggs with pesto, broccolini and dried olive crumbs.
And while that was amazing, I like my frittata better because it feels more substantial and dinnerish.
I’ve baked it in a rectangular pyrex dish because I like how it looks, but you could easily use a round 20cm (8in) springform pan or a 20cm (8in) oven proof frying pan instead.
Pesto, Olive & Feta Frittata
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 5 tablespoons pesto 120g (4oz) + extra
- 100 g feta (3.5oz) , crumbled
- 2 handfuls black olives pitted (100g / 3.5oz)
- 1 bag salad leaves to serve
Instructions
- Turn your oven on to 200C (400F). Grease and line a rectangular oven proof dish (mine was 20x25cm / 8x10in dimensions) or a round 20cm (8in) springform pan or a 20cm (8in) oven proof frying pan. If using a non stick pan no need to line it with paper.
- Mix eggs and pesto a big pinch of salt in a bowl. Pour egg mixture into your prepared pan. Scatter over olives and feta.
- Bake frittata for 15-20 minutes or until the egg is set and the frittata feels firm and springy. Serve hot or at room temp with salad and extra pesto if desired.
Variations & Substitutions
pantry-friendly – serve with steamed or pan fried frozen greens.
dairy-free – replace feta with roast walnuts, cashews or other nut. And use dairy-free pesto.
more substantial (carb lovers) – serve with crusty bread, roast sweet potato, toast or boiled or roast potatoes.
more substantial (low carb) – extra pesto, feta, avocado, or add roast nuts. Serve with more substantial low carb veg.
herby – a little chopped chives or thyme are lovely with the eggs.
no olives – just skip them or replace with sun dried tomatoes, grilled red peppers, walnuts or extra feta.
different cheese – parmesan, brie, camembert or cheddar.
no pesto – replace with a 250G (9oz) pack of frozen spinach that has been defrosted and squeezed dry.
carnivore – cooked sausages, salami, bacon, proscuitto or chicken.
Problem Solving Guide
bland – really? More salt or pesto or a squeeze of lemon will help. Next time a different brand of pesto might be a good idea.
too dry – serve with extra pesto or some extra virgin olive oil drizzled over.
no oven – scramble eggs in a frying pan with a little butter or make plain omelettes and serve with pesto, cheese and olives on top.
watery – this means the eggs haven’t set. Just pop back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
eggs – will keep in the fridge for weeks or use for another meal.
pesto – commercial jars of pesto will keep for months in the pantry. Fresh pesto will keep in the fridge for a few weeks. Cover with olive oil to prevent exposure to air and browning reactions.
feta – keeps for months unopened in its packet. Or can be frozen. Or you could make a marinated feta by putting it in a super clean jar from the dishwasher and covering with oil and then keeping it in the fridge. Sometimes I like to add flavourings like bay leaves, lemon zest and pepper corns or chilli.
olives – store in the pantry.
salad leaves – store sealed bag in the fridge. If buying loose leaves, wash and spin dry in a salad spinner then wrap loosely in paper towel and place inside plastic bag. Push out most of the air and seal. Store in the fridge.
Prepare Ahead
Cook as per the recipe but keep the salad separately. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or can be frozen. To serve, allow to come to room temp or warm gently in the oven being careful not to overcook it.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
I made this the other night & Wow! Flavorful, easy, quick & just all around yummy. I didn’t have any olives on hand, so I chopped a little roasted red pepper instead. It was just me, so I cut the recipe in half & it worked well. Can’t wait to try it again with olives!
So glad you enjoyed Lynne!
This is very good. I used goat cheese instead of feta and served with a massaged kale salad. Excellent breakfast!
ooh I’ll have to try it with goats cheese Lynn!
I swapped out half the olives for sun-dried tomatoes, and added some chopped fresh oregano, garlic chives and dandelion leaves, and had the result with microwaved broccoli. Good.
Oh yum Mark! I’ve been getting dandelion leaves from the farmers market – love them! And also great idea with the sun dried tomatoes – thinking it would be good with roast cherry tomatoes too.
Excellent in every aspect! Good combination of ingredients, and so quick and easy to assemble and cook. I already had a jar of pesto in the back of the cupboard, waiting for…something, and now I know! Haha!
I made it last night. My 17 year old loves it and will be sad to find out his older brother has devoured the leftovers! I’ll have to make it again very soon…gotta keep those boys happy and well fed! Ha!
(I used my cast iron skillet. 10″…worked out great.)
Your boys are very lucky Cynthia!
Another favourite. Nice for lunch. No added salt needed – plenty from the olives and fetta.
Excellent Jo!
Made this for my Dad yesterday as part of his COVID care packaged. Added a defrosted and squeezed dry pack of frozen spinach for extra veg. Took a few extra minutes to cook then the standard recipe. So good!
This was amazing! I loved this recipe!
It’s a good combo isn’t it?
So glad you enjoyed it Stephen 🙂
One of my very favourites. Made quite a few times now, lovely with a salad. Made it with the almond meal crust from the ploughman’s pie which took it to another level.
Yummo.
ooh Heather – what a fab idea! Thank you 🙂
I cooked this a couple of nights ago for a quick supper, it was delicious! Some of my favourite tastes here- pesto / olives / feta- all in a satisfying frittata. A combination I wouldn’t have thought of, but it really works. Thanks Jules!
So glad you enjoyed Maria!
xx