Oh My Godda, It's Asparagus Frittata!

Asparagus Frittata fresh out of the oven

It's spring in Massachusetts, but it's not far enough along to allow us to pick asparagus from our backyards. However, the grocers have bunches of it in abundance — from Maryland perhaps? I always prefer to use fresh local ingredients, but when spring is in the air and the veggies are not yet popping out of the ground, I sometimes forgo my locavore tendencies and buy the greens that were trucked north for us to enjoy.

Storey's newest cookbook, Dishing Up Maryland by Lucie L. Snodgrass, has been enticing me to make its recipes. The book is organized by season. I thumbed through the spring chapter and chose Asparagus Frittata (page 44) as my first recipe to make. Although the asparagus in my yard is not ready to pick, I was able to use fresh chives from my garden and fresh parsley from my potted herb container.

Ingredients for Asparagus Frittata

Some of you may be lucky enough to live where the asparagus is ripe. If so, there is no excuse not to give this recipe a try — it is easy and delish!

Asparagus Frittata

Ingredients
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 scallions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1⁄3 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1⁄3 cup grape tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
2 cups asparagus pieces, cut into 1-inch lengths
5 eggs
1 tablespoon half-and-half
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled

Instructions

1. Preheat the broiler. Heat the olive oil in a medium cast iron skillet. Add the onion, scallions, and garlic; sauté for 3 minutes over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, tomatoes, parsley, dill, and asparagus, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat.
2. Whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, salt, and pepper in a small bowl until the eggs are light and frothy. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables in the skillet. Sprinkle the goat cheese over the eggs, and cook over low heat until the eggs are set, about 8 minutes. Remove the skillet from the stove, and put it under the broiler for 3 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and the frittata is firm.
   

The cookbook states that this recipe is great for brunch, but I found it works well for any meal. I ate it for dinner with a mixed baby-green salad and then ate it again the next day for breakfast between two pieces of bread. Yummm!

Asparagus Frittata and a mixed baby-green salad was my Friday night dinner.

Next on my list of recipes from Dishing Up Maryland: Eleanor Van Dyke’s Crab Cakes (page 120). I will surely let you know how those come out (tasty, no doubt!).

— Kristy L. Rustay, Marketing Manager