Saturday, February 7, 2009

Frittata Whatta?


Frittata with Arugula, Lemon, Dill and Feta

I had the week of potlucks this past week, and for the last one I played around and invented a frittata. This was always going to be iffy as I had a recipe for a frittata with different ingredients, and because I was going to serve it to Chinese Singaporeans, and who knows what they'll think of something like this?

So I started with chopped onion, which I sauteed slowly in some olive oil in a non-stick pan. I cooked them until they were browning nicely, about 10 minutes, because I thought I might need a little sweetness in this dish.

Then I put in the arugula, which was a little scary as I've eaten it raw, but have never cooked it. And it smelled a little funny while it was cooking - not good. But I guess I used around 2 cups. Then I had about a tablespoon of fresh dill, chopped, and about half a lemon zest, grated. I put these ingredients in after the arugula wilted nicely. The smell began to improve at this point.

Next I added 5 eggs and I tilted the pan to make sure they were evenly distributed. I had sliced some red peppers - not bell peppers, but another kind that has a little heat. I made a decorative arrangement with these. Then I crumbled some feta all over the top. As I was cleaning up my materials while the frittata was setting up, I noticed I had a tomato in the refrigerator, so I sliced some of that and made more decorative arrangements with them.

After about 10 minutes, I needed to transfer the whole shebang to the oven to get the top to brown and set up. But the non-stick pan I was using has a plastic handle. So I fiddled around under the frittata with a spatula until it was mobile enough, and then I slid it into the pyrex pie dish. Phew! That could have been a disaster, but it wasn't.

Well, it all went well and I brought it the meeting and waited. We ate buffet style, and I was one of the first one through. So, I took a wedge and moved on. Later I went back and the frittata was almost gone! I was so surprised! But it was really delicious. You taste the lemon first, then the dill and the arugula, and then the heat of the peppers, followed up by the creaminess of the feta. Are you drooling yet? I was quite pleased. I hope you try to make this recipe. Let me know what you think. No one at our meeting said a peep to me, so I need some feedback. Thanks!

4 comments:

Melody Johnson said...

It sounds absolutely fantastic. I am drooling. I have no arugula here in the boonies but I am sure spinach would work too. Isn't that the definition of gourmet cooking, not having the exact ingredients and then using what's on hand, to create a brand new delish dish.

Akiko said...

You are so creative. I am always impressed with your colorful and carefully arranged presentation of your cooking. Taste??? I can only guess...
Wait a second... mmm .. I am closing my eyes and tying to put all those flavors of your choice of ingredients now... lemon, dill, tomatoes, eggs, feta...
I am chewing now... mmm.. I am smelling bacon now... oh, that was our lunch, BLT. Delicous!

Carmen Rose said...

Ok pardon me, I'm drooling on my keyboard!

CB said...

Looks beautiful so I must try. So it's like omelette art, right?