Today is the Day Before The Day Before the Baby Shower (during which I will cater food for 60-odd people). As a result dinner tonight was a relaxed affair. Yes, I realize that there is no real connection between today being the Day Before the Day Before and my need/desire not to make a fussy dinner, but I'll hang onto that tenuous thread for as long as I can. (And don't you try to stop me!) So, being motivated to make a quick and easy dinner (and to use up the last asparagus of the season before it goes bad) I made a frittata.
The frittata is a great recipe to have in your repertoire. It's an egg-based dish into which you can throw anything that happens to be sitting around in your fridge, including fresh herbs that need to be used up. (Much like risotto in that way.) When I am making a frittata and trying to pass it off as dinner, I usually throw cooked pasta into the bottom of the pan under the eggs. That gives the dish a feel of substantially and makes it "dinner worthy." Tonight's frittata had asparagus, spaghetti, mushrooms, and goat cheese. It was lovely.
2 cups asparagus
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 small onion
8 ounces spaghetti
2 ounces goat cheese
2 tbsp fresh tarragon
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
Start a large pot of water to boil. When the water is boiling, add salt, and cook the pasta. Dice the onions and saute over medium heat, in a large oven-proof skillet, for 3 minutes, then add the mushrooms. While the onions and mushrooms are cooking, slice the asparagus into 2 inch pieces. Beat the eggs, adding the tarragon, goat cheese and salt and pepper to the eggs. When vegetables are softened, remove the vegetables to a bowl and set aside. By this point the pasta should be cooked. Drain it and add the pasta to the bottom of the skillet. Put the vegetables on top of the pasta and pour the eggs over everything in the pan. Cook the frittata over medium-high heat until its starting to set around the edges. When the frittata is starting to set put the skillet under the broiler to cook the top. After 3- 5 minutes under the broiler the eggs should be cooked through. Cut the frittata into wedges and garnish with chopped tarragon.
Bon Appetit!
Serves 4
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