Tag: frittata

Calabrese salame, cauliflower frittata

dinner, 10/18/10

(color it purple, gold or green – or just leave it white, like ours this time)

I love cauliflower in every form, and I’m equally fond of eggs.  I’d been looking for the flowered cabbage in the Greenmarket all summer, but hadn’t found a small, good-looking head, in any color, until this past weekend.  As I had on hand some very fresh Greenmarket eggs from Knoll Krest Farm which I didn’t want to hold onto long, I thought of one of my favorite recipes.

  • slices of Calabrese salame (Columbus Salumeria, from Trader Joe’s), served with Greenmarket red dandelion greens dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette along with slices of “Wheat Italian Bread” from Wild Hive Bakery in the Greenmarket
  • cauliflower frittata, made in a 12-inch pan and not flipped (very, very easy:  see recipe), including in the saute mix some thinly-sliced stem as well as the torn green pointed leaves tightly enclosing the head, the eggs beaten with a bit of grated Parmigiano from Eataly and added when the vegetable had begun to color, the thin “omelet” finished with a sprinkling of anise hyssop blossoms and torn leaves, from Keith’s Farm in the Greenmarket
  • a nibble of Cave-Aged Cheddar from New Jersey’s Bobolink Dairy (Greenmarket), served with thin toasts of the same wheat bread
  • wine:  Spanish, Naia 2008 Rueda (Verdejo) by Jorge Ordonez, from 67 Wine

[image from clipart ETC (unfortunately I forgot to record the supplier, and snap an image, while  I was at the Union Square Greenmarket)]

dinner, July 18, 2009

eggs_knoll_krest_farm

I assembled a simple, very inexpensive meal last night using ingredients found in the refrigerator for the first course (including sliced air-dried beef remaining from the night before, and some hard-crusted two-day-old bread).  The radishes  had come from the Greenmarket, and I was able to include their tops (which usually have to be tossed out unless they are very fresh) in the second course.   I finished the frittata on the top of the range before we sat down to the appetizer, letting it rest for a few minutes, so I ended up serving it when it was barely warm, the flavors just coming into their own.

I had managed to minimize heat build-up in the kitchen on a warm evening.   I didn’t use a recipe;  the assembly of the frittata was inspired by what I had found in Union Square.   It was really, really delicious, with no little thanks to the wine (an Italian rosé). The success of this simple frittata began with my being able to use some very fresh farm eggs, and was secured by the happy and delicious contest between the sweetness of the onions and the bitterness of the  greens.

  • thin-sliced bresaola with leaves of radicchio, both dripped with some excellent Sicilian olive oil (Omero, purchased from Cola’s, a neighborhood restaurant) and lemon, accompanied by sliced red radishes, and served with toasted Pugliese bread
  • an open frittata (in a huge cast-iron pan) which began with the sauteing of sliced torpedo onions, followed by the addition of torn radish tops and red-stem dandelions, which quickly wilted, and finally a pouring of six fork-whipped Knoll Krest Farm eggs which had been mixed with some grated Pecorino, a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper
  • wine:  a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Cantina Zaccagnini Cerasuolo rosé 2008

dinner, april 5, 2009

  • yellow cauliflower and Parmesan cheese unflipped frittata
  • duck breast stuffed Sienese style (garlic, fennel seeds, rosemary, Parmesan), served with oven fries roasted with garlic and thyme and finished with chopped parsley
  • wines: Garnacha de Fuego (Calatayud, Zaragoza) 2007 with the frittata;  Barco Reale di Carmignano (Tuscany) 2005 Casa Contini Bonacossi with the duck