Wednesday 1 February 2017

My go-to meal - Frittata

As you may know, we have chickens, 11 now.   They are laying hens.  They are silkies and d'uccles. Silkies are beautiful birds but they don't lay too many eggs and our d'uccles are really really cute but they don't lay too many eggs either.  Oh dear.


When we do have eggs, my favourite dish to make and eat is frittata.  It is so easy and a great way to clean out your vegetable drawer before re-filling it.

Our chickens are little so they lay little eggs.  When baking I use 3 little eggs for every 2 in a recipe.  No two frittatas have ever been the same here.  This particular one is made with potatoes and kale.

I had 10 eggs, so I used 10 eggs.  I usually use a dozen, which
allows for a couple of dinner-sized portions of frittata plus a
lunch-size portion for the next day.
I peel and cut the potatoes into pieces to fry up quickly in olive oil.  I like to use an herb infused oil unless I have a large amount of fresh herbs on hand.  In mid-winter, I don't always feel like putting on my big coat, boots and mitts to go out to pick fresh herbs.  I also add chopped onions or leeks.  A little later, I toss in kale broken into smaller pieces (spinach or chard could be  used in place of kale).  I gently fry all of this until it's cooked.    

I whisk the eggs in a bowl with some milk, salt, pepper, a little
dash of ground hot peppers and some shredded cheese.
 Then into the frying pan goes the egg mixture, cooking it slightly so it's not quite liquid.
It's not much to look at before it's cooked, but wait.
I put the frying pan into the oven and bake at 400F for about 25-30 minutes or until the top is browned and the entire mixture is firm.

Scatter some chopped green onions or chives on top.
Now it's beautiful.  
Remember the handle of your frying pan is hot for a long time!  I leave a hot mitt on it so I won't forget.

I usually serve the frittata with homemade salsa and a salad.  It is an excellent meal which isn't complicated.  No need to go out and buy special ingredients to make it.  Use whatever is in your kitchen.  You can start by frying up broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery or pretty much any raw vegetable along with your onions.  You can add your favourite cheese with the eggs.  Sometimes I sprinkle crumbled feta over top of the frittata before it goes into the oven rather than adding cheese to the mixture.  Or I put slices of brie on top before baking.  Ninety per cent of the time I do have fresh herbs and I chop them, then sprinkle them on top after the pan comes from the oven.  Leave the whole thing for a few minutes to let the frittata absorb the flavours of the herbs, just like when you make pizza - ah pizza, that's another blog-to-be.

Enjoy.  

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