Chicken Orzo Frattata

This week's post features I recipe I discovered while watching Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis. If you're a college-age male having trouble getting into Food Network programming, I highly recommend this show. Even if you're not into a particular episode's dish, Giada's not too hard on the eyes.

At any rate, chicken orzo frittata incorporates chicken breast and pasta into eggs, making a far more substantial dish than you may think a frittata is capable of. It's quite enough to satisfy even the heartiest of appetites come dinner time. For Giada's original recipe, click here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/chicken-and-orzo-frittata-recipe/index.html

My own attempt varies slightly, though I imagine the end product is largely the same.

Ingredients:

7 Eggs

2 Chicken Breasts

3/4 Cup Orzo Pasta

1/2 Cup Ricotta Cheese

4-8 Scallions

1/3 Cup Roasted Red Peppers

Italian (Flat Leaf) Parsley

Steps/Analysis:

Giada starts off with a pre-roasted chicken. To save a couple bucks, I bought two raw chicken breasts and decided to cook them myself. Trim the breasts of fat and cut in fairly identical strips (roughly the size of a large chicken tender). Place these in a roasting pan that's been hit with a little spray oil and salt and pepper liberally. Cook the breasts in a 375 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until they are white all the way through.

The next item that should be addressed immediately for time is the orzo. There's no big secret to boiling pasta, fortunately. If you follow the directions on the box you should be fine. Don't be afraid to estimate the amount either - that's what I did because I didn't feel like doing much math.

Chop the scallions into small pieces and dice the roasted peppers to approximately the same size. Give the parsley a rough chop. Combine these ingredients in a large mixing bowl with the eggs and ricotta. (Note: Giada's recipe also calls from creme fraiche, but I couldn't find any at my supermarket, so I just increased the cheese ratio to make up for it.)

Drain your pasta and run it under cold water for a minute or two. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and allow to cool on a plate for some time. Neither of these ingredients should be hot; if they are, they'll start to curdle the eggs immediately after being introduced to the bowl.

Uniformly incorporate the last ingredients into the egg mixture and pour into a pie pan or baking dish. Place the dish in your 375 degree oven for approximately 35 minutes. (Note: for some reason, Giada's timing seemed to be very off on this step. I found myself taking the pan out, jiggling it, and putting it right back in the oven more than once.) Basically, you want the egg to be firmly set. If it seems a little liquidy it's probably still okay to pull the pan because carry over heat and evaporation will take care of it.

Serving/Notes:

Overall, a very hearty dish. Two slices had me feeling a little uncomfortably full. In hindsight, I would advise you to go easy on the parsley and be sure to chop it thoroughly. Big chunks of it are going to be a little unpleasant to the palate. Other than that, there's not much to it. Salt and pepper to taste and be careful not to burn your mouth.