Asparagus, potato and eggs all produced in this yard combined to make a gorgeous frittata for supper the other day.
We ate asparagus for most of May but during the summer an occasional spear of it emerges which I cut to add to salads or a stir fry. The odd potato missed last fall during harvest has sprouted, signaling its presence deep in the ground where I dig and pull it out to use right now. The chickens are out and about all day, avoiding eagles by dashing under the barn or into bushes, and scratching for bugs and worms, followed by their idea of salad from clover and grass in the yard. The reward is brilliant yellow yolks.
The glory of eggs is that they will glue together miscellaneous ingredients to create a whole dish, in this case grated and hash-browned eggs, chopped spears of asparagus, and shreds of onion. Also, because eggs come in handy one-each portions, we can easily expand a dish according to however many persons are eating it. Actually, the potatoes are like that, too: in this case one medium potato per person. Sometimes it is a lot easier to cook if we don’t have our nose in a recipe, feeling all anxious about level teaspoons or how many onions do you need for one cup.
For fun, I’ve been growing micro-greens. Potting soil with a mix of superannuated lettuce, scallion, kale, radish and cabbage seeds sprinkled on it, kept damp and in a sunny location has yielded a fun addition to salad or as a garnish. It’s pretty sprinkled on a frittata or even a plain old fried egg.
If you have never hash-browned a potato, the method simp0ly requires grating it, and dropping the shredded potato on a greased frying pan over a medium-high heat, until it is golden on one side then flipping it over to brown the other side. Easy-peasy.
We ate this for supper but it makes a good breakfast or lunch. It goes together very quickly and easily.
- Olive or vegetable oil
- 1 medium potato per person
- 2-3 spears of asparagus per person
- Chopped onion or scallion to taste
- 2 eggs per person
- Grated cheese, optional
- Optional add-in or garnish: chopped parsley, dill, micro-greens
- Grate the potato and chop the asparagus into bite-sized pieces.
- Heat a pan over a medium high heat and add oil.
- Brown the potatoes on both sides, breaking up the mass to create a lot of crunch.
- Add the asparagus and onion or scallion and heat until they are just tender.
- Beat the eggs and pour over the potato and asparagus, swirling the pan to cover the bottom. Reduce the heat, sprinkle the optional cheese over the top and cook until the eggs are set. Put under a broiler briefly if you wish.
- Take it off the heat, distribute the optional garnish and serve.