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 Friday night frittata. |
No matter what happens, there are always eggs to depend on.
No fridge should be without these little treasures, because you never know when time runs out, money gets scarce and everyone is hungry. That's when it's eggs to the rescue.
HAM AND EGGS BAKE
This is such a simple idea – lining muffin cups with ham of your choice, (slices of cooked or Black Forest ham is recommended, or prosciutto, which has a saltier edge) and filling the well with eggs mixed with a little cream and seasoning. Serve with buns, small baguettes, toast along with a green salad.
6 round slices of your favourite ham
4 large eggs
1/2 cup (125 ml) light cream, 10 or 18%
1 Tbsp. (15 ml) minced fresh parsley, basil or green onion tops
1/4 cup (50 ml) freshly grated hard cheese such as Parmesan, Gouda or Cheddar
1/4 tsp. (1 ml) freshly grated pepper
Pinch salt
Lightly grease 6 muffin cups. Line each with ham, gently easing ham to bottom and up sides. Fold any excess ham down, leaving a 1/2-inch (1-cm) cuff over top of muffin cup; set aside.
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In a medium bowl, whisk eggs with cream, parsley, cheese, pepper and salt. Pour into ham-lined muffin cups. Bake in centre of a preheated 350F. (180C.) oven until ham is crisp and egg filling is just set.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
TIP: No fresh herbs or green onions in the crisper? Substitute 1/4 tsp. (1 ml) dried herb such as basil, oregano, marjoram or dried Italian herb seasoning.
BAKED EGGS IN TORTILLA CUPS
Here’s a slightly different version of supper in a cup – only this time the cup is a small tortilla, crisped in the oven as it cuddles a whole egg per person. The tortilla provides all the bread you need for the meal, but a green salad or a selection of crisp vegetables with a ranch dressing dip fits the casual mood of an egg-in-a-cup supper.
6 small corn or whole wheat tortillas
2/3 cup (150 ml) finely diced sweet red or green pepper
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp. (1 ml) freshly ground pepper
Pinch salt
6 large eggs
1/4 cup (50 ml) grated Monterey Jack or old Cheddar cheese
Lightly grease 6 muffin cups or 3/4 cup (175 ml) custard cups or ramekins. If tortillas are stiff, place them on a plate or in a microwaveable dish; cover and microwave until pliable, about 10 seconds on high. Press each into bottom and up sides of muffin cups, pleating tortillas to make them fit muffin cups.
In a medium bowl, toss together sweet red pepper, green onion, pepper and salt. Sprinkle about three quarters of mixture into bottom of each tortilla cup; set remainder aside.
To make sure you don’t break yolk when dropping eggs over pepper mixture, break first into a small bowl, then slip eggs, one at a time, into tortilla cup. If a yolk breaks – don’t worry and just carry on.
Sprinkle eggs with remaining sweet pepper mixture, then cheese. Bake in centre of 375F. (180C.) oven until whites of eggs are set, and yolk is hot and still creamy, or to desired doneness, about 20 minutes.
TIP: If you have a little ham or cooked bacon in your fridge waiting for a place to add their flavour, chop up 1/4 cup (50 ml) and distribute it with sweet pepper mixture.
TIP: When choosing sweet green peppers, look for Cubanelle peppers. They are thin skinned, full of the essence of sweet green pepper and aren’t bitter like many of the thick-skinned green peppers. Cubanelles are more expensive than the regular peppers, but worth the money.
TIP: If buying fresh peppers isn’t handy, take a look at jars of roasted peppers in supermarket. You don’t have to use them all at once so roasted peppers are a handy refrigerator/pantry item. Drain well, chop and pat dry before adding them to a recipe.
EGGS ON ROSTI
This is a Swiss-style pan-cooked egg on a crisp potato pancake. First person home gets to cook and grate the potatoes, then when everyone is ready, someone else can take over frying the potato pancake and getting the eggs in the pan. A great little supper to pair with a cabbage and apple slaw or the proverbial tossed greens. Or, if you like, a green vegetable such a snap peas or green beans.
6 potatoes, about 1-3/4 lb. (750 g)
1 cup (250 ml) shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese
1 green onion, thinly sliced
Pinch each salt and freshly ground pepper
3 Tbsp. (45 ml) butter, approximate
4 large eggs
Peel potatoes; keep whole. Boil in a covered saucepan of boiling salted water until hot through but not soft, about 10 minutes. Drain and cool. Shred into a large bowl using coarse side of a box grater. Add cheese, onion, salt and pepper; toss lightly with a fork.
Set a 9-inch (23-cm) skillet (non-stick is suggested, but a good seasoned cast iron skillet works as well) over medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp. (15 ml) of butter and melt, swirling pan to coatbottom and part way up sides.
Add potato mixture; pat evenly so mixture holds together. Fry until bottom is golden and crisp and loose enough to move around in skillet. If necessary, use a spatula to loosen rosti. Cover skillet with a large, heatproof plate. Away from heat, and holding plate and skillet handle firmly, turn rosti out onto plate. Melt half of remaining butter in skillet; slide rosti, golden crisp side up, into pan. Fry until second side is golden and crisp, about 10 minutes. Slide out onto a cutting board and cut into 4 wedges.
Meanwhile, in a separate skillet, melt remaining butter. Add eggs, one at a time. Cover skillet and fry eggs until whites are opaque and firm, and yolks are done to desired doneness, about 3 minutes for runny stage. Serve an egg atop each wedge of rosti.
TIP: If desired, you can poach eggs instead of frying them, and if you like, creamy scrambled eggs atop rosti is delicious as well.
VARIATION: If you have a few fresh mushrooms about, say 4 or 5, enough to make 1 cup (250 ml) when chopped finely, saute them in a little butter or olive oil. Add to grated potato mixture.
FRIDAY NIGHT FRITTATA
For some it’s pizza night, but Friday night can as easily be frittata for supper – cheaper than take-out or delivery, and adaptable to bits of vegetables lurking in the crisper. The one below is the basic – you add leftover sweet potato or squash, broccoli or spinach, even sliced mushrooms or chopped red or green pepper you can fry along with the onions in the recipe.
1 Tbsp. (15 ml) extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. (1 ml) each salt, freshly ground pepper and dried thyme
6 large eggs
1/4 cup (50 ml) milk
1/2 cup (125 ml) shredded semi-hard cheese such as Gouda, Havarti, Fontina or Cheddar
1 cup (250 ml) croutons, optional
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, salt, pepper and thyme. Fry, stirring often, until onion if soft, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk eggs with milk. Add to onion mixture; sprinkle with cheese. Stir to combine. Sprinkle with croutons, if using, pushing them down slightly into egg mixture.
Cook over medium-low heat until bottom is set and light golden but top is still runny, about 10 minutes. Broil about 4-in. (10 cm) from heat until top is set, about 5 minutes. Serve in wedges. Makes 4 servings.
VARIATIONS: Frittatas were made to be varied. If you have some leftover pasta, up to 2 cups (500 ml), stir it into the cooked onion mixture. You can also add some finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes at the same time.