Arugula & Tomato Frittata

By Tara Duggan, Chronicle Staff Writer If you’re making plans for Easter or other springtime brunches, think about making a frittata. The one below is a version of a recipe I make often when people come over for brunch. It’s great for a shower or another midday event with lots of guests because it’s filling and can be served at room temperature like a quiche; plus it’s beautiful. Though the full preparation time is longer than most of the recipes in this column, it takes less than a half hour to put the dish together; the rest is baking time. You may be tempted to use a lower-fat milk in the frittata, but I’ll warn you — we tried testing it with whole milk instead of cream, and it just wasn’t right. It’s a frittata that adapts well to all kinds of vegetables, as long as they aren’t too juicy, so feel free to add or substitute cooked asparagus, bell peppers, artichokes or zucchini for the tomatoes, or use sauteed Swiss chard or other greens instead of the arugula. The recipe calls for a 10-inch nonstick or cast-iron frying pan, which you measure across the top, inside the rim. When you take the frittata out of the oven, drape a kitchen towel or hot pad over the handle so you don’t accidentally grab it and suffer serious burns, as I have been known to do. This was adapted from a favorite recipe from “Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen,” by Italian cooking authority Lidia Bastianich. Note: If you don’t have stale bread, toast bread cubes in a 300° oven until slightly dry, about 10 minutes. PER SERVING: 235 calories, 12 g protein, 9 g carbohydrate, 17 g fat (6 g saturated), 373 mg cholesterol, 158 mg sodium, 1 g fiber.