Even Easier Frittatta Recipe

Back when we had laying hens, eggs were on the menu pretty darn often. We've been in an egg drought lately, but thankfully many of my new friends also have chickens. We're back in egg business! Not only back in business, back in excess: a friend gave me an extra dozen at the end of market last Sunday, so we've got a lot of eggs on our hands. What do i always think of for dinner when we have lots of eggs on hand?? Frittatta, of course! That impossible to spell, easy to cook, perfect dinner or brunch meal. 1 frittatta is perfect for a main course for 2 or a side for 4. Chock full of protein, and completely maliable to whatever seasonal veg you have in the garden or fridge, frittattas truly are the perfect weeknight meal.

I've cooked several variations of this dish in the past, from Some Kinda Chef's inspired version to my stand-by cooked to perfection, without a recipe for my Grandmother's 90th birthday. As with many of my recipes, my frittattas are always just suggestions rather than rules. The method is generally the same, but the ingredients seasonal. I fiddled with my method the other night, however. And it was delicious!  I usually saute the vegetable ingredients first, set them aside, layer sliced potatoes back in the warm pan, top with the veg, and top with beaten eggs mixed with optional milk and cheese. This time i skipped the sautee, and the results were different, but great!

Even Easier Fritatta Recipe

• 3 small new potatoes or one large baking potato, microwaved for about a minute and sliced very thinly
• 2 chard leaves, chopped finely (or kale, or spinach, or....)
• 1 jalapeno, diced
• 1 elephant garlic clove, or 2 regular garlic cloves, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 large tomato, or 2 small tomatoes
• 1/2 zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 small cauliflower head, sliced (or broccoli)
• 6 eggs
• splash milk
• Herbs/seasonings: salt, pepper, basil, paprika, etc
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese

Instead of sauteing the veggies, i started the layer right away. A thin drizzle of olive oil first, then the layer of potato slices. Keep the slices thin and overlap them slightly. This layer is your 'crust.' I used those purple majesty potatoes again: yum! Fry the potatoes for a few minutes on med/high heat without stirring them at all. You could put a lid on the pan for this part - you just want to be sure the potatoes will get soft and cooked in the oven. Preheat to 375. Turn off the heat to the pan and start layering the veggies. You don't have to wait for the pan to cool. I layered min in this order, but you can mix it up however you'd like. Jalapenos, onions, garlic first layer. Cauliflower second layer. Cheese. Zucchini slices (round slices, not overlapping). Chard to cover the rest, be sure it's chopped up pretty well. Top with the egg mixture: 6 beaten eggs with a splash of milk and any herbs/seasonings you like. The eggs might not 'cover' all the veggies, but that's okay. The final layer should be thinly sliced tomatoes arranged evenly spaced on the top. The juice from the tomatoes will help counteract the shortness of the egg mixture, and all will end up cooking down and amalgamating themselves together.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until cooked through: the top should bounce back if pressed and their shouldn't be any egg gooeyness apparent. Enjoy with a delicious fresh salad of seasonal salad greens, fresh un-cooked corn, fresh raw shredded beats, bell peppers, a little more fresh tomato, some roasted sunflower seeds and a splash of oil and vinegar. This is a late Summer meal fit for anyone's table! Gorgeous! (Too bad my camera has been having a hard time focusing in the dim light of my new kitchen, after being dropped by my 'sous chef' of a husband. Snarf.)

This post is part of the Simple Lives Thursday blog hop!

Eggy-in-a-Basket: A Recipe for Fresh Eggs

I met Foy while in Savannah, GA for graduate school. She's always amazed me with her knowledge of plants and horticulture, and she always brought something scrumptious and homemade to our many potluck dinners. I make a recipe very similar to this, it's especially great when camping. Try it with some cinnamon raisin bread for an awesome sweet/savory combo. Enjoy this post from Foy!

Eggy-in-a-Basket:  A Recipe for Fresh Eggs 

Eggy in a basket was a staple for our two years as Peace Corps Volunteers.  Jeff and I lived without electricity in a tiny rural village up on the continental divide in Panama.  This was our kitchen:

One of our chief luxuries was the stove and oven we ran off a 10 gallon tank of propane. 

While in Panama I learned how to bake simple bread, much like Miranda’s Onion and Herb Bread recipe.  We had neighbors who sold us eggs from their pollos de patio (patio chickens).   At least once a week, we’d make eggy-in-a-basket.  It is such a simple comfort food. 

Back in The States, we live in an apartment with no room for a bevie of backyard beauties like Miranda’s.  I found the next best thing, a country house along my way to work with a sign that reads, “Brown Eggs $2.50 a Doz.”  The yolks of these eggs sit high and pert and are a dark rich marigold color.  Fresh eggs are essential for good eggy-in-a-basket. 

I like my yolks a little runny while Jeff prefers them set but not opaque.  This is how I make eggy-in-a-basket for the two of us. 

I start with a couple thick slices of bread.  They don’t have to be homemade, but you can’t go wrong with fresh bread.

Then poke out the middles out of each slice.  You don’t want to break the ring.  That’s what’s going to keep the egg in place. 

Butter a large skillet with about a half tablespoon of butter.  I use a non-stick skillet, but I bet a cast iron skillet would be divine.  Place the bread in the skillet.  Put the centers you poked out of the bread in there too.  Then crack one egg into each bread ring. 

If you prefer your eggs over hard puncture the yolk.  Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper then cook the eggs over medium to low heat. 

Flip the eggies over once the albumin of the egg has started to turn solid white, should take one or two minutes.  Continue to let them cook for another minute or so.  I pull mine off the heat a little before Jeff’s because I like dipping the bread center into the soft yoke.  You can tell if the centers have set by prodding the middle.  If it jiggles it’s not set. 

Eggy-in-a-basket is delicious alone or make a meal out of it by adding some veggies.  We had ours with a side of Brussels sprouts pan roasted with onion and bacon.  If you want the recipe hop on over to my blog, Foy Update: Garden. Cook. Write. Repeat. 

I hope you will try eggy-in-a-basket.  They are a simple pleasure and I know you’ll like them. 

Pesto Fritatta

Omigosh, this was delicious. DELICIOUS. I've been really 'not in the mood to cook' lately and have been having a hard time thinking of new things to make. How silly that i've been overlooking the one ingredient that comes delivered to me in a shiny brown package every day: EGGS.

So yesterday i decided to make a batch of cheeseless pesto and do some experimenting with fritatta. Fritatta is so versatile - you could make it sweet, savory, milky, cheesey, whatevery. I plan on making this one again, but also to continue experimenting with whatever is ripe and on hand.
I came up with something pretty healthy, the right balance of satisfying and light, and used a bunch of garden ingredients to create this:

• 5 eggs
• Handful fresh chopped tomatoes - i used Porters
• 1 red onion, pre microwaved or par boiled
• 1 large clove garlic
• Some onion, about 2 T
• 1 jalapeno
• 1/2 Cup or more freshly made pesto
• Basil
• Garlic chives
• Pecans
• Fire roasted serranos
• Olive oil
• Sauteed Tofu (could use any meat here as well)
• Sauteed with smoked hot paprika and salt

Saute the onions, garlic, and jalapeno in a little olive oil (plus a dash of truffle oil). Once soft set aside.

Re coat the pan with spray or regular oil and place the potato in slices along the bottom of the pan. Scramble the eggs with the pesto and tomatoes and add the sauteed onion mixture once it's cooled to the scramble. Place the sauteed tofu evenly over the potatoes and pour the eggs over that and bake at 375 for about 20 minutes. Keep your eye on it and remove when it's firm and bouncy to the touch. I added some cheese on the top for fun, but it totally didn't need it. The mixture of the eggs and pesto made a really unique fritatta that was not dry but not creamy either. There was much approval from the husband and a request for a second was chuckled at, but considered ;)