Frittata

Me and my girl friends had a girls night out. It was so much fun - giggles, gossip and girl talks over lotsa wine at our favorite hang out Boure on the Square. We were to spend the next day together as well with movies, spa day and shopping. My friend Zhiyan came over to stay at my place and as usual we sat up chatting again and it was almost morning by the time we hit the bed.

I woke up a little early the next day and while she was sleeping (uh, I know its surprising that I woke up early!). I made a quick visit to our local farmers market and got some fresh eggs, asparagus, mushrooms, spinach, kiwi's and strawberries and headed back home with my groceries to make a Frittata - it's a Spanish/Italian (yes there is a debate where it was originated,) omelet which is loaded with veggies and baked.

So while my dear friend was enjoying her beauty sleep I toiled in the kitchen making some delicious brunch for us. ;)

And when she woke up she was surprised that I was up so early in the kitchen cooking up a storm!  Well hard work (I don't mean the work to cook the eggs, for me its the waking up part) never goes waste so the end result was a delicious Frittata which was enjoyed by us with some cold water, red wine and lotsa fresh fruits. After this we headed to enjoy the rest of the day with our spa date, movie, shopping etc.

So here goes he recipe:


Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 cup Mushrooms washed sliced (don't make the slices too thin)
1 bunch Asparagus cut (each cut into 2-3 pieces)
1 onion Sliced
1-2 cloves garlic chopped
1 cup spinach leaves washed and chopped
2 tblspn Milk
2 tblspn Cheese (Parmesan or Mozzarella - I used goat cheese and it tasted heavenly)
2-3 tsp. olive oil and some for spraying
1 tsp Italian seasoning or fresh herbs like thyme/oregano etc.
Salt & pepper to taste



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat a pan & add Olive oil, sauté onions and garlic just till they turn translucent or a light brown. Now add and sauté the asparagus, spinach and mushrooms in this order, as mushrooms and spinach leave a lot of water so they go last. While sauteing these veggies add the Italian seasoning and salt to them and mix well.

Now beat the eggs with milk and salt and pepper well (I use a fork for this and go easy with the salt as we already added it to the veggies). Take a baking pan or a skillet which is oven safe and grease it along the edges and bottom with olive oil (here my PAM spray comes handy). The pan should be greased well or the dish will be hard as the eggs will burn.
Now add all the veggies to this pan and pour the egg mixture using the fork simultaneously to move the veggies so that the egg mixture can pour down to the bottom evenly.

You can now sprinkle the cheese you are using. If using Parmesan/mozzarella grate it but if using goat cheese just add the small chunks as its too soft to grate.

If you are using the oven safe skillet you can cover it and cook it on the stove top for few minutes and then transfer it to the over to broil for 5 mins and if you don't have an oven just continue cooking it covered on the stove top. For those of you who have the pan just put it in the oven and cook for 15-20 mins till the eggs cook and the dish looks fluffy. Broil for 3-5 mins. This is will ensure it has set well.

Switch off the oven and let it stay in there for 2 mins take it out and let it cool for another 2-3 mins and then cut into pieces like a pie/pizza. I served it with fresh fruit (Kiwi and strawberries) and some wine.

Note:

Feel free to use any veggies (potatoes, zucchini, tomatoes etc.)

I have made the same version adding some low fat cottage cheese too.

If you re-heat it and eat it for later make sure you cover it with plastic wrap and heat and not for too long as the eggs tend to get chewy.

You can serve this with tea/coffee and bread or just by itself