Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten’s Easy Potato Pancetta Frittata Recipe Is Perfect for Feeding a Crowd
Ina Garten loves to entertain guests but doesn’t make cooking for friends any more complicated than it needs to be. When she wants to feed a crowd a satisfying breakfast or brunch, the Barefoot Contessa star makes a delicious egg frittata dish that’s filled with potatoes, pancetta, and cheese.
Ina Garten’s potato pancetta frittata is an easy recipe when entertaining guests
Garten demonstrated how to make her easy potato pancetta frittata recipe on an episode of Barefoot Contessa. “One of my favorite times to entertain is Sunday,” she explained. “Everybody’s very relaxed, you’ve done all your chores, and you’re ready to have a good time.”
The Barefoot Contessa star cut up potatoes for the hearty frittata, cooked pancetta in a skillet until it was crisp, then drained the meat on a paper towel-lined plate.
Next, she added butter to the pan and cooked the potatoes for 6 to 8 minutes, until they were “browned on the outside and tender inside.”
“I use Yukon gold potatoes,” Garten noted. “I think they just have a really great, kind of creamy flavor and you don’t even have to peel them. Big advantage.”
Garten shared that this dish is versatile because you can change up the ingredients with what you have on hand. “I love to make frittatas,” she said. “You can actually put almost anything in — anything’s good with eggs.”
Garten adds 2 ingredients that make the frittata puff
She whisked together eggs, ricotta cheese, gruyere cheese, milk, and melted butter. “The thing about my frittata is it’s got flour and baking powder in it,” she said. “And that makes it nice and light and puffs up, which is great.”
Garten mixed the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl, then folded it into the egg mixture, then added julienned basil.
Garten added the pancetta to the pan and made sure it was evenly distributed. “You want every bite of frittata to have a little pancetta and potato in it.” Then she poured the egg mixture over the top and baked the frittata in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 50 to 55 minutes.
The full recipe is available on the Food Network website.
‘The Barefoot Contessa’ star loves making an easy meal to feed a crowd
Garten is a fan of unfussy meals that are satisfying for her guests but not overwhelming to her as the host. In an interview with FN Dish, she shared how she once tried her hand at making omelets for her guests. It didn’t go well.
“The first time I ever made eggs for a crowd, I did a party when I was really young, Jeffrey and I were first married,” she explained. “I made omelets for each person. Trust me, that was a bad idea.”
She continued, singing the praises of an easy one-pan egg dish that feeds a crowd. “That’s why frittatas are great, because not only can you make frittatas all at once, either a big one or mini ones, but you can make them ahead, refrigerate them, and reheat them,” Garten said. “A little secret.”
