Spinach Chicken Frittata

Spring is full and the pandemic is ongoing and these two things coexist without resolution. The peonies in the small strip of garden outside our building are blooming—deep pink, extravagant—and I brought Liam to look at them on Monday morning and he knelt down to look at them up close and said "pretty" with the direct economy of a child who says what he means. Yes. Pretty. The world keeps making peonies regardless.

I go back to work in three weeks. My supervisor has been sending weekly updates—floor census, COVID case counts, the operational changes. The hospital is not what it was in March. The acute surge has passed; the ongoing management of COVID in an oncology context is something different, something sustained. I will go back to a floor that has been through something and that will continue to be through something.

I've been thinking about the nurses I work with. James, the new nurse who was new in September, has been on the floor through all of it. I've been in FaceTime contact with a few colleagues and they sound like people who have run a very long race and are still running. I want to be back for that. I want to be back.

Nora smiled reliably now—she turns the full-face smile on people who have earned it. Liam has earned it. He gets it every time he leans over her and says "hi, Nora" in the voice he uses. Sean gets it in the mornings. I get it at four AM during the feeding when the apartment is dark and it's just the two of us and she looks up at me and smiles and I am completely undone by it at four AM, every time, without resistance.

Three weeks until I go back, and I’ve been cooking the way I always cook when I’m trying to hold things gently — simply, with good ingredients, without fuss. Spinach is everywhere at the farmers’ market right now, bright and insistently green, and it felt right to build something around it: a frittata that comes together in one pan, that you can slice and eat warm at the table or cold standing over the sink at four in the morning. It’s the kind of recipe that doesn’t ask much of you, which is exactly what I needed.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4–6

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup cooked chicken breast, shredded or diced
3 cups fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella or Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven. Heat oven to 375°F (190°C).
Saute aromatics. Heat olive oil in a 10-inch oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook 3–4 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds more.
Add spinach and chicken. Add spinach to the skillet and stir until wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in the cooked chicken and distribute evenly across the pan.
Whisk eggs. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes until smooth and slightly frothy.
Combine. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the chicken and spinach in the skillet. Sprinkle cheese over the top. Let cook on the stovetop undisturbed for 2–3 minutes until the edges begin to set.
Bake. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 14–17 minutes, until the center is just set and the top is lightly golden. A knife inserted in the center should come out clean.
Rest and serve. Let the frittata rest for 5 minutes before slicing into wedges. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold.

Nutrition (per serving)

Spinach Chicken Frittata — Something Nourishing for the Season of Returning