It’s Christmas and I’d like to wish everyone a very happy day! Though it is not my holiday religiously-speaking, I am really looking forward to spending time with my family today and in the coming week.
I am sure you will agree that it has been a very busy month. I’m personally going to take a few days off from posting on the blog because I’ve caught kind of a nasty cold and I just need a break. I’m also hoping to catch up on some reading and start a new knitting project (and there’s always all that house cleaning that doesn’t happen by itself).
I hope that you, too, get some well-deserved time off, and that you have a very Happy New Year. I’ll see you in 2010!
Before I go, here is a recipe for a delicious fennel frittata. I had this for breakfast today, and I liked it so much I will probably make it again when I have guests for New Year’s brunch. It’s really simple to make but the flavor is quite elegant. Perfect for entertaining when you don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.
For the tomatoes, I used defrosted slow roasted tomatoes that I made this summer with organic tomatoes from my garden. These tomatoes also have lots of garlic and herbs in them, so if you are using chopped raw tomatoes (or your own plain defrosted garden tomatoes), I would add a nice sized handful of chopped herbs of your choice to this recipe: basil, rosemary and parsley will all work, or use a combination. If you’re not using slow roasted tomatoes, I would also add some minced garlic (1/2-1 Tb. ) when you are sautéeing the mushrooms and fennel….
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Recipe for Fennel and Tomato Frittata
Ingredients
- *2 tablespoons organic butter
- *1 tablespoon olive oil
- *1 fennel bulb trimmed and sliced
- *3-4 large mushrooms sliced
- *2 cups defrosted slow roasted tomatoes or chopped tomatoes
- *1 large handful of herbs chopped (if not using slow roasted tomatoes)
- *6 eggs preferably organic and free-range
- *2 tablespoons ricotta cheese-optional
- *Coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- 2. In a cast-iron skillet, heat the butter and oil. Add the optional garlic and the sliced mushrooms and fennel and cook over low heat until they are very soft, about 10 minutes. If you are using uncooked tomatoes and herbs, add them in after about 5 minutes. If you are using defrosted cooked tomatoes (or fresh chopped tomatoes), just mix them in at the end.
- 3. Crack the eggs into a large bowl. Add the ricotta and whisk well. Pour egg mixture over the vegetables.
- 4. If using a cast-iron skillet, you can use it to bake your frittata. If you are not using cast iron, or if you don't want to bake your fennel frittata right in the skillet, you can butter or oil a deep pie dish or other casserole pan and pour in the frittata ingredients.
- 5. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the frittata is set. Allow to cool before slicing.
