Eatwell Recipe 22: Frittata With Chevre, New Potatoes & Herbs ~ The Garden of Eating

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Eatwell Recipe 22: Frittata With Chevre, New Potatoes & Herbs

A frittata is a half-sauteed, half-baked (in a good way) omelette of Italian provenance. One of the best things about frittatas is that there are so many yummy possibilities. Onions, peppers, spinach, chard, potatoes, fresh tomatoes, pesto, sun dried tomatoes, ham, sausage, gruyere, chevre, cheddar, parmesan -- with options like these, how could you really go wrong?

Since we received a half dozen pasture-raised eggs, several fresh onions, and a bag of new potatoes in our produce box this week, a frittata seemed like a good way to use up several things in one hearty meal. I kept this frittata fairly simple but you should feel free to adapt the basic recipe below by adding or substituting other ingredients.

Although I baked this frittata in a pie dish, it is easiest to cook the dish from start to finish in a frying pan or skillet (saves you the washing of one more dish) so the directions below are for that preparation. A frittata makes a great lunch but is also hearty enough for dinner if served with some salad and bread or another side dish or two. And it's tasty hot or cold.

Frittata With Chevre, New Potatoes & Herbs
Serves 4

Ingredients

* 6 eggs, beaten
* 3 medium-sized potatoes, scrubbed
* 1 medium onion, sliced or diced (up to you)
* 3 oz goat cheese, crumbled (I used a delicious herb chevre made by Cypress Grove)
* 2 tsps fresh herbs, rinsed and dried (I used thyme, sage and marjoram but dill and parsley would be tasty, too)
* 1 tsp sea salt
* Several grinds of black pepper
* 2 tsps olive oil

Directions

1. Boil the potatoes until just tender when pricked with a fork. Drain and let sit until cool enough to handle.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium-sized frying pan or cast iron skillet, heat the olive oil over a medium flame (you will be baking the frittata in this dish so be sure to choose one that is both oven-proof and large enough to hold all the ingredients.) Sautee the onions in the oil until translucent.

3. Cut the boiled potatoes into 1-inch cubes and mince the fresh herbs. Beat the eggs in a bowl, throwing in the minced herbs and seasoning with the sea salt and pepper (use enough salt to season the whole dish.)

4. Add the potatoes to the onions in the skillet and stir well to coat all the pieces with oil. Turn the flame down to low and add the eggs and goat cheese to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes or until the bottom is set. Transfer the skillet to the oven and brown it under the broiler for 3 or so minutes (keep it at a bit of a distance from the flame if you can) until the top is set -- be sure to keep a close eye on this since things can burn very quickly under the broiler. If your frittata mixture is deeper than about one inch, you may want to bake it in the oven for a 5-10 minutes before you finish it off with a minute or two of broiling.

5. Remove from broiler and allow to cool slightly then cut into generously sized wedges, and serve.

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