Ingredients
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12 Eggsfree range will give you much more flavour and are richer
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3/4 cup Fresh Cream
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1 bunch asparagusblanched
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10-15 small button mushroomscut in half
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2 chorizo sausagessliced 1/2 cm thick on a 45 degree angle
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100 grams brie cheeseor any soft cheese
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4-5 sprigs dillleaves picked and chopped
Directions
Frittata is one of those items you can make when all you have in the fridge are eggs and a few bits and pieces; it’s entirely welcoming to your creativity.
This particular recipe is one that I created one morning when I had a relatively bare fridge. I had had a few friends over for dinner the night before, or should I say “I had had a few friends over for wine the night before”. We ended up drinking a disproportionate number of bottles to food. That’s what I love about my friends, they are so enthusiastic about my food, they always bring what ends up being one bottle per person, far too much but who am I to complain.
Anyhow this one morning I woke up and not having eaten as much as I probably should have the night before, (I was too busy corking, talking, and refilling glasses) that I woke up rather hungry, famished actually. The breakfast I needed this morning was not the usual fresh fruit and muesli either, it was to be something a little more substantial and hopefully a lot more fattening. Opening the fridge door I discovered last nights leftovers, little bits of cheese left from the cheese platter, lightly sauteed chorizo slices from the nibbles plate, (noticing how these slices were glued to the plate with a rust coloured paste like substance; I knew they were to be the source of fat that my frayed nerves needed this morning), a few pieces of excess asparagus from last nights first course, some old mushrooms and dill that had been withering in the bottom of my fridge since early last week and of course the eggs. Omelette! I thought, but then I remembered I had more than myself to feed, I had a few guests who had decided after all that wine it best to stay the night and leave the car parked. Good thinking, but there was no way I was going to cook 5 omelettes and spend all morning in the kitchen, when all I really wanted, was to sit on the couch with the dog and have her read me the weekend paper. Frittata! I thought, perfect, one pan and the oven does half the work. By the time everyone arose from the dead, the smell of the frittata and the fresh brewed coffee had them salivating.
Frittata is a great thing to make ahead of time, it will keep for a couple days in the fridge and can be served warm or cold, so don’t be afraid to use a lot of eggs.
In this case I made the frittata for breakfast but it is also one of my favourite light summer lunch options with a nice glass of very chilled white, but obviously no wine that morning thank you very much.
- Preheat oven to 160 degrees (320 fahrenheit).
- Cut the asparagus into 2 cm (1 inch) pieces.
- In a non stick pan saute the chorizo on high for 2-3 minutes, remove, drain and pour the oil back into the pan.
- Return the pan back to the stove on high heat (add some olive oil if required) and saute the mushrooms, remove and drain.
- In a large stainless steel mixing bowl, crack the eggs and whisk together with the cream until all the eggs are broken.
- Add the chorizo, mushrooms, asparagus and dill and season liberally with salt and pepper, mix with a wooden spoon.
If you have an oven proof non stick fry pan do the following:
- Lightly oil the pan and place on high heat, stir the egg mix one last time and pour the mix into the hot pan.
- Let sit on the heat for approx 30 seconds while you distribute the brie cheese over the surface of the egg mix and then transfer the whole pan to the oven.
If you do not have an ovenproof non stick fry pan you can use an oven proof baking dish:
- Lightly oil the oven proof dish and place in the oven for a few minutes until hot and remove.
- Stir the egg mix one last time and pour the mix into the hot dish, distribute the brie cheese over the surface of the egg mix and then transfer the whole dish to the oven.
In both cases:
- Bake in oven for approx 45 minutes to 1 hour, no liquid egg should rise when you gently depress the top of the frittata (however do not mistake melted brie for raw egg).
- Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes and turn out by carefully placing a large plate or med cutting board over the pan or dish and holding on firmly to both, turn the pan upside down.
- Repeat last step one more time to ensure brie cheese is served to the top, and carefully cut frittata into portions.
- Serve warm from the oven with a glass of chilled white, or serve cold from the fridge with a green salad.
