Spring Frittata

As a budding young Chef, this was one of my favorite dishes to make for my family for breakfast on the weekends. I think I saw it made for the first time on The Galloping Gourmet – Graham Kerr, remember him (that’s how small a bud I was when I first made this). I liked the dish, the simplicity of it, the variety of ingredients you could put into it but above all, it always comes down to taste. It also looks great on the plate, slices nicely and makes for a great, quick weekday supper and a nice left-over work-day lunch.

As I said, ingredients can vary greatly. I used asparagus, zucchini, red peppers, bacon, mushrooms, onions and some grated cheese with Flax oil (my way of offsetting the bacon in the dish) for the topping. But really, the combination of ingredients is unlimited. Make it vegetarian by leaving out the bacon and bangers or sausage (I served these on the side).  Add snap peas, broccoli, kale  and/or spinach to offset.  I started serving it for dinners much later and it is just as practical and good for you as any thing else you come up with. This recipe serves 4 – 6 depending on what else you are serving with it and how big your appetites are.

1 bunch thin Asparagus – I like thin, but use what you like – see instructions below for cutting
2 zucchini, cut in half lengthwise, then into thin slices
1 red pepper, diced
6 – 8 mushrooms – diced
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2″ widths
1 onion, red or white – rustic dice
1 jalapeno or Thai chilli – okay in my case 3 or 4 chopped
1 cup grated cheddar
8 eggs
Olive oil, salt and pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 400F
To make the design on top of the frittata (see picture below), cut the bottom hard part (usually about 1.5 – 2″) off the asparagus, you should have a 5″ – 6″ piece left.  From the tip of the asparagus, measure 4″ and cut at that point. Do this with all the asparagus.  The remaining stalk pieces will be sliced into 1/4″ rounds or there about – it’s food people. Put the tip pieces into a bowl, pour about 1 tsp olive oil over them, then a sprinkling of salt and pepper, rub all over and set them aside
Crack the eggs into a medium sized bowl, whisk them to mix, add some salt, pepper – oh and of course a bit of cayenne to suit your taste (not in the ingredient list above) 

I used a 9″ skillet for my frittata but you could use 8″ or 10″, just adjust your cooking time – if you have a non-stick skillet use it
Sauté the bacon over medium heat, you want to cook it not just release the fat – if there is too much oil in the pan or you want to remove the fat please do so, add olive oil to the pan
Add the onion just before the bacon is done – sauté for about 1 minute to soften
Add the zucchini, mushroom and asparagus rounds – sauté for about 1 minute
Add the red pepper and chillies – sauté for about 1 minute
Add the eggs to the pan, stir to incorporate all the ingredients – reduce the heat, stir to cook the eggs
Allow a crust to form on the bottom and the top to settle slightly
Sprinkle the cheese on top, mix gently – you want some cheese on top, but you also want some in the frittata itself
Arrange the asparagus tips in any design you like (keep in mind you have to slice this up like a pie to eat it)
Put the pan in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes – test it, it should be firm, but also have a bit of jiggle (that’s a technical cooking term) when you shake the pan
Remove from the oven and cover for a few minutes to continue a “gentle” cooking of the center
Slice into wedges – I served this with a plain mesclun salad with avocado and papaya. On the side, I added some bangers – baked in the oven – Lorna from Don Mills shared this idea with me. It is a great alternative to frying. Don’t poke them, use fresh (not frozen) bangers, place them on a rack, 375F oven, turn over at 10 minutes cook a further 10 minutes and they should be perfect. This is pork, so please use an instant read thermometer – yes you should have one of these in your house, go and buy one now – about $8 – $12. It should say 160F to be done safely. Serve immediately as the sausages get wrinkly (another technical cooking term) as they cool, still good, just not great visually.
As always – enjoy!