MetMUnch’s Potato, Red Pepper & Cheese Breakfast Frittata

MetMUnch Recipe of the Month

This month MetMUnch are launching our first ever Breakfast Club!

The first rule of Breakfast Club is: eat your breakfast. That’s it! We’re trying to get staff and students at Manchester Met to make sure they eat breakfast every day. Breakfast is really important because it will give you the energy to get through your day, and stop you getting those mid-morning hunger pangs.

It can also be a really fun meal – that’s why we’ve chosen a specially selected breakfast recipe this month. There’s more to life than honey nut hoops!

MetMUnch will launch Breakfast Club at the Manchester Met Business School on Wednesday 5th March. We’ll be with MMU Environment celebrating Fairtrade Fortnight, giving out nutritional advice and offering free samples of breakfast treats made by MetMUnch students. Join us between 8am and 10am and keep an eye on @MetMUnch to be part of #BreakfastClub!

Potato, Red Pepper & Cheese Breakfast Frittata

Frittatas are Italian style omelettes that are fast and easy to cook. They are very filling too.

Ingredients:

Serves 6

• 1 large onion, diced
• 5 small red potatoes (1 to 1 1/2 pounds), diced
• 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme (or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried)
• 10 large eggs, whisked until frothy
• 50g cheese cut into cubes

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Warm a teaspoon of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions and a pinch of salt. Wait until the onions are translucent and just starting to turn brown, 5 to 7 minutes.

Stir in the potatoes and another pinch of salt, and lower the heat. Cover and let the potatoes steam for 4 to 5 minutes. Uncover and stir in the peppers and thyme. Re-cover the pan and continue steaming for another 4 to 5 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Scatter the cubes of cheese evenly over the vegetables, then pour the eggs over top. Shake and tilt the pan to make sure the eggs are evenly distributed.

Put the entire pan in the grill with the handle out and grill for 8 to 10 minutes, until the eggs are completely set and beginning to pull away from the sides, and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the frittata cool for a few minutes and then slice it into wedges.

Serve this frittata with a crusty piece of bread. Leftovers will keep for 5 days and are excellent eaten hot or cold!

Nutrition Tips:

Eggs: 

Eggs are one of the most nutritious foods you can get. They’re a natural source of loads of nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and lots of high quality protein. A medium sized egg also contains under 70 calories.

You’ll also get plenty of vitamin B2, B12 and the all important vitamin D – plus minerals and trace elements like phosphorus.

Don’t forget to check the ethics of where your eggs come from! Each egg carton is stamped with a number: 0 = Organic and 1 = Free-range. Let’s try to stay away from caged eggs.

Bell peppers: 

Bell peppers are great nutritionally. They have less than 1g of fat per cup – a surprisingly low level. That same cup of chopped red bell peppers also contains almost three times as much vitamin C as an orange: 190 mg!

Red peppers are also amazing for vitamin A, which helps with your eyes, and there’s lots of vitamin E in there too. You’ll also get beta-carotene, a brilliant antioxident.

For more recipes, nutritional advice and fun with food, check out @MetMUnch on Twitter and www.metmunch.com