may 14, 2020

This spring vegetable dish can be called either a frittata or a crustless quiche, for those of us too lazy  to make crust or simply wanting the delicious innards of a quiche without the extra starch from a pastry shell.

You can buy a premade crust but my goal has always been to encourage homemade (nearly) everything. I admit to keeping a jar of good quality marinara in my kitchen and some of the Indian simmering sauces in my pantry are a fragrant and spicy bath for little chunks of paneer cheese or chickpeas . I’ve even used frozen pizza crusts with the homemade part being the generous amounts of cheeses and roasted vegetables piled onto the shell until it groans under the weight of the toppings. I’m a big fan of breakfast breads like English muffins and waffles but if you examine my grocery cart you’ll see that these are made by someone else. Now, back to singing the praises of all things homemade, like this eggy veggie breakfast brunchy entree topped with tangy goat cheese.

Asparagus is the In Thing these days and mercifully plentiful. Cage free eggs seem to be easy to find, also. What I’m hinting at is that you don’t necessarily need meat to make a feast. Shortages are also In Things these days so my plates are more plant-based than ever. A few years back my Spring Vegetable Spoon Bread Tart was packed with spring veggies and topped with goat cheese like today’s offering. That dish likely started my foray into meatless meals, although I still enjoy small amounts of animal protein more as a garnish than anything resembling bulky servings. The Beyond Meat Lasagna of last month introduced plant based meats to this blog and I expect to play with more products like this as the urge strikes. The most meaty asparagus dish (with umami from mushrooms and coconut aminos) is my Asparagus and Shiitake Stir Fry, which makes me salivate with anticipation at the mere mention. Today’s frittata is no slouch in the umami department with its skin-on baby potatoes and goat cheese.

If you have a heavy cast iron or oven-proof skillet this is a one pan meal. If not, the veggies can be transferred to a baking dish after cooking lightly. A true frittata would be all egg; I add a little cream for a tender custard to make this more like quiche. Trust me when I say you won’t miss the crust.

perfect spring breakfast : asparagus and strawberries

Asparagus Potato Frittata

recipe by Michele Humlan, The Good Eats Company

makes four servings

ingredients

12 ounces baby potatoes, unpeeled and cut into ¼ inch slices
kosher salt
⅔ cup finely chopped sweet onion
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
fine sea salt
finely ground white pepper
2 cups sliced asparagus
4 large eggs, room temperature
½ cup heavy cream
pinch of ground nutmeg
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In heavy one quart saucepan, bring potatoes covered with water and seasoned with a generous pinch of kosher salt to boil; simmer over low heat until just tender and easily pierced with knife, about 8-9 minutes; drain and cool to room temperature.
3. Over medium high heat place onion and butter with pinch of fine salt and white pepper in heavy 8 inch cast iron or oven-proof skillet; when mixture beings to sizzle, turn heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft but not browned.
4. Add asparagus and cover for 2 minutes to soften.
5. Add potatoes to skillet.*
6. In small mixing bowl, whisk eggs until well blended with nutmeg and pinch of fine sea salt; gently add cream and pour over vegetables in skillet.
7. Top all with goat cheese crumbles and bake until eggs are set, about 30 minutes; make sure oven temperature is accurate so frittata does not burn.
8. Serve immediately or at room temperature.

*If you don’t have a heavy skillet, transfer cooked vegetables to greased 8 inch baking dish.