FRITTATA aka OMELET

No time to cook, make a frittata, Italian version of an omelet. It is very healthy, tasty and quick to make too.

They are delicious for breakfast, lunch or dinner!   They are super-versatile, one can add fresh vegetables,  meats or cheeses – the choice is yours!

A good frittata is perfect steaming hot, or at room temperature the next day.  We take for lunch, at a picnic, to the beach or on the road.

Asparagus Frittata For Two:

4 tablespoons of olive oil

8 oz. asparagus – woody ends trimmed off and cut into 2-3 inch pieces

4 eggs – beaten (season with salt and pepper)

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese – grated

In an 8 inch non-stick pan add olive oil.  Add asparagus and gently saute' over medium heat until just starting to soften.  About 15 minutes.

Pour beaten eggs over asparagus and let cook till set around the edges.  Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.  Flip once and continue to cook few more minutes. 


Onions and Pepper Frittata

Onions and Pepper Frittata

Frittata for One

2 eggs

1 red hot pepper chopped (friers - frying peppers)

1 green sweet pepper chopped

1 small onion chopped

3 tablespoons of olive oil

salt and pepper

In a small, non-stick pan, add olive oil, chopped peppers and onion, saute' over medium flame about 10 minutes turning often not to burn. Lightly beat eggs, add to peppers and onions. When egg mixture firms up, flip over once, cook few more minutes and serve.

Sustainable Eating - Means Branching Out

Changing one's eating habits is not easy. You need a diet that you can't "break" - one that's flexible enough to adapt to new changes.

Try a fruit or vegetable that you did not think you liked when it's in season or at its peak. I have seen people converted to foods from zucchini to asparagus just by tasting them freshly picked and simply prepared.



Pasta with Asparagus - Fettuccine con Asparagi

Ingredients

1 lb. thin asparagus

2 cloves of garlic chopped

4 ripe tomatoes or 1 can plum tomatoes

3 tablespoons olive oil for sauce

1/4 cup of olive oil to saute' asparagus

Salt and pepper

1/2 lb. fettuccine pasta

Cut asparagus into 1 inch pieces.  Throw away hard ends.

In a pan add 1/4 cup olive oil, add cut asparagus, salt and pepper and saute' for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until tender.

In a medium pot, add 3 tablespoons olive oil and chopped garlic. When garlic is golden, add tomatoes and simmer for approximately 15 minutes, add the asparagus, and simmer few more minutes.  Adjust salt and pepper.

In the meantime, bring water to a boil and cook the pasta and drain. Pour sauce with asparagus over pasta and serve.


Asparagus are not limited to fettuccine.  We also love them with rigatoni.





Then, Comes PASQUETTA or LUNEDI' di PASQUA (Easter Monday)

While in America everybody is back to work on Monday following Easter Sunday. in Italy they have another holiday called Lunedi' di Pasqua or Pasquetta.

On this day, many Italians head for the fields to picnic and celebrate the arrival of spring. Many families together with friends and relatives feast on frittata (egg omelets) made with wild asparagus, 

Asparagus frittata

various pizzas,

Pizza with roasted peppers

and other Easter delicacies like Fiadoni e Pastoni and yes, red wine.

Pastoni

Fiadoni

Perhaps stuffed but Che bel divertimento!

It's Spring - Asparagus have sprung in my garden

E' Primavera - Gl'asparagi sono spuntati nel mio giardino.

Nothing says spring more than fresh asparagus and spring onions (scallions) growing in our vegetable garden.
 

 

The asparagus are fresh, fresh, fresh. The spears snap, the heads are tight and much, much tastier than the cultivated spears found in stores all year round.   The small patch of land we devoted to the asparagus produces a small bunch daily.  Some spears are pencil thin which I use for frittata and the thicker ones for pasta dishes. I remember foraging for wild asparagus as a kid with my father.   It was our traditional vegetable eaten on Pasquetta. 

I also picked some scallions...

Let's make a FRITTATA DI ASPARAGI

Ingredients
1 pound pencil-thin asparagus
2 bunches of scallions
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
6 eggs



Remove and discard the tough lower ends of the asparagus. Wash and cut the spears into 2 inch lengths. In a non-stick skillet, saute the asparagus spears in olive oil, sprinkling them lightly with salt.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until asparagus are tender but still firm, about 5 minutes.

In the meantime clean the scallions and cut in small rounds. Add to the asparagus and cook an additional 5 minutes over low flame.

Beat the eggs lightly in a bowl, with salt and pepper. Add the eggs to the asparagus, scrambling the mixture lightly with a fork. Cook 5 minutes or less, flip over and cook an additional 2 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature.
  

Frittata di Asparagi

Images: ©2011 - La Casa e Il Giardino -picasaweb

Fettucine con Asparagi

Images: ©2011 - La Casa e Il Giardino -picasaweb