Vegan Frittata with Swiss Chard for Oahu Fresh

Brunch might be my favorite meal of the day: I love the combination of sweet and savory foods at the meal, and the endless variety of delicious foods considered ‘brunch’ foods is awesome.

One of my favorite brunch foods is my Vegan Frittata. This easy, savory dish can be prepared a day ahead of time for quicker meal preparation. For a frittata. and you can use whatever veggies you have on hand (check out my original tofu frittata featuring broccoli here). This is a great way to add vegan brunch dishes to your menu, and it’s really comparable to an egg-based dish, in a way that tofu often is not. Another yummy option is to make a strata, which is basically the same thing but with bread inside. For anyone that cares: my favorite sweet brunch option is my vegan Pumpkin French Toast!

For this week’s featured item, we’ve chosen Swiss chard, which is a new feature for our cooking show. Chard is a beautiful leafy green that’s related to beets, and comes in a variety of colors–usually red, pink, orange, yellow, and white. For this recipe, I’d recommend using yellow, orange, and white only in order to keep the frittata the correct color. Much like beets, red chard can bleed its beautiful pink colors, and will give the frittata a wacky color (though still delicious).

I also like to use chard as a shredded, leafy green in fried rice recipes or in pilaf type dishes, like last week’s Quinoa Pilaf. It’s good on it’s own, but you can also pair with other leafy greens like kale, collards, or spinach for flavor and texture variety. One important thing to note is that chard doesn’t do well as leftovers–often the greens turn yellow-brown, which is edible but not as visually appealing!

Vegan Frittata with Swiss Chard

Olive oil, for cooking
¼ cup minced red onion
1 clove garlic, minced (or 1 teaspoon garlic flakes or powder)
8 ounces extra-firm tofu (about 1 cup crumbled)
6-8 leaves Swiss chard, stems and leaves chopped and separated (about 1 cup leaves and 3/4 cup stems)
¼ teaspoon of salt
1 (12.3-ounce) package firm silken tofu, drained
¼ cup water or vegetable broth
¼ cup nutritional yeast
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch or potato starch
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon miso
More salt and black pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400º. Lightly grease a glass pie plate or 9-inch cake pan with 1 teaspoon of olive oil, and line with parchment paper.
2. Heat a few teaspoons more olive oil in a large skillet oven medium heat. Add onions and cook until they are softened.
3. Add garlic and chard stems and cook, stirring occasionally until stems have softened.
4. Add crumbled tofu and cook until warmed through, adding more oil if it is sticking.
5. Remove from heat, and stir in salt and chard greens into the hot pan, using residual heat to wilt the greens. Set aside.
6. To a blender or food processor, add the silken tofu, water, nutritional yeast, cornstarch, turmeric, and miso. Blend until smooth, scraping sides if necessary. Turn out into a large bowl.
7. Stir the greens/tofu mixture from the skillet into the blended tofu mixture.
8. Pour into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until center is set and top is slightly browned.
9. Remove from oven and let stand for at least 15 minutes for the frittata to set – this is very important! A fresh-out-of-the-oven frittata will fall apart!
10. Loosen the frittata around the edges with a knife or spatula. Slice into desired number or servings, and remove with a pie server. Serve hot, cold, or at room temperature alongside a lovely salad or side of bright leafy greens. This makes excellent leftovers too!

Yield: 2-4 servings (it’s really good, so it might just be a serving of one!)