The Anytime Frittata

I might otherwise call this the end of summer frittata, but we just rolled over into fall officially. I'm still using up the slowly fading harvest of the heat as the tomatoes, peppers and basil have hit their peaks and appear to be ready for retirement. I'll be making a ton of pesto to freeze, pickling an assortment of peppers for the pantry and stewing some tomatoes with garlic chives for those tasty pastas, lasagnas, manicottis, pizzas and calzones. How wonderful it is to be able to savor the flavor of summer well into the winter when we get snowed in, become wracked with cabin fever and are left to spend our time hovering around the oven and stove, creating delicious things to eat. Preserving, pickling, canning, freezing and fermenting are incredible ways to extend the life of your garden and get creative with sustainable practices that not only bring us tasty joy, but reduce our kitchen cook print.

Frittatas are about the easiest, one - pan dishes you can make that is suitable any time of the day. I take the opportunity to clean out the crisper and use any excess produce on hand. The combinations of ingredients are limitless and I've found one that nearly suits everyone in my family. The only tools you need are a cast iron skillet and a wooden spoon. I like using my enamel coated one because the egg doesn't stick so badly to it as it does the raw iron. Both will work, but one is tougher to clean. Furthermore, choose the one that is the right size according to how many you want to serve. This is an 8 inch pan and made four lovely servings. Pair it with a fresh salad and you have a perfect plate.

INGREDIENTS

For a basic frittata, make a base of eggs and a little milk or cream. This is basically a crustless quiche.  The ratio of 2 - 3 eggs to about 1|4 cup of milk works well and will give you a nice custard.
For this variety, I used these other optional embellishments.

5 - 6 spears asparagus, ends trimmed, stalks chopped, tips reserved
1|4 c red onion, diced
5 - 6 cremini mushrooms, medium to large, thick sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1|2 bell pepper, any variety, chopped
5 - 6 large cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved
crumbled goat cheese
fresh parsley, basil, garlic chives
nutritional yeast
grass - fed butter + good olive oil
salt + pepper + crushed red (or diced jalapeño)


DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Warm your pan on medium high and gently warm the olive oil until it glimmers. Sauté the onion and bell pepper for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, mushrooms and asparagus stems. Season everything with salt + pepper + crushed red until just right for your taste. Add 1 -2 tablespoons of butter, the fresh herbs (reserving a little for garnish), nutritional yeast (a few shakes or a palmful) and mix everything together well. Turn off the heat. Mix your eggs and milk together in a bowl and pour right over the vegetables. Arrange the asparagus spears on top with the tomatoes. Crumble the goat cheese all over and bake until golden brown around the edges and little bubbles begin to form and brown across the top, about 30 minutes for this size pan. Up to 40 - 45 for a ten inch or larger. Check the center with a toothpick. It should not be wet and should be firm in the middle if gently pressed with your finger. Serve with a side salad and a basic vinaigrette and some crusty french bread, if desired. It's good for mopping up your plate!

ENJOY!