I’m a vegetarian and over the years I’ve developed this fail-safe frittata that’s quick to make and not too fussy to prepare. It’s great served on a large platter, cut into 8, garnished with snow pea sprouts and cherry tomatoes.
You can substitute ingredients as you wish, though the egg ratio seems to work with any combo, without the need to add cream or flour or water. The picture, right, is a variation.
This dish feeds 4 as a main, or 8 as a side. It takes about 25 minutes to prepare and cook.
Ingredients
- Olive oil and a knob of butter for frying
- 2 onions, chopped
- 6 sprigs of tarragon if you have it
- 2 bunches of asparagus, trimmed into approx. 1 cm lengths
- 7 eggs beaten with a little ground salt and pepper (to taste)
- 20 black olives, pitted and halved
- 100 gm Camembert or Brie
- Sweet paprika to sprinkle on top
- Salt/pepper to taste
How to
- Peel and chop the onions and fry them in a 30 cm non-stick fry pan with butter a generous slurp of olive oil and some salt and pepper. After they begin to sizzle, stir them then turn them down to low. Put the lid on the pan to let them sweat and become sweet. This takes about 10 mins.
- When the onions are soft and smelling beaut., strip the tarragon of its leaves and put the leaves in with the onions and mix through. Give the stalks to your bunny
.
- Add the olives and stir, still on a low heat.
- Snap the ends off the asparagus, chop the stalks into 1 cm lengths, and put them into the fry pan. Turn the heat to high and stir often for 3 or so minutes,
putting the lid back on in between stirring. - When the asparagus is cooked but still firm, turn the heat back to low and pour beaten eggs over the top of the mixture in the pan. Swirl the pan a little to make sure the egg mix is evenly distributed. Put the lid on again.Turn your grill to high and set up the oven racks so that the frittata pan can sit fairly close to the heat.
- Cut the Camembert or brie into strips and lay them across the top of the runny egg. It’s fine to have gaps – just aim for an even-ish coverage. Sprinkle generously with sweet paprika. If there are pools of egg, swirl the pan some more to get that egg cooking.
- Turn the heat off.When the grill is hot, place the pan underneath it until the eggs are no longer runny and the cheese is melted and bubbling. If you have a
frying pan with an oven-safe handle, shut the oven door and let the grill do its magic. This takes a few minutes - Place snow pea sprouts in lacy random patterns on your serving dish.
- Take the finished frittata out from under the grill, shake the pan to loosen it (it shouldn’t stick) and tip it into your serving dish. It should slide out without the need to use a lifter.
- Cut the frittata into your desired portions, arrange halved cherry tomatoes around the side, then drizzle with a little olive oil. Let guest help themselves. Enjoy!
