Olive Oil to liberally coat bottom of 9” oven safe frying pan
1 medium bulb or 2 small bulbs Fennel: stems removed and cored and cubed ¼ in.
1 medium Onion: peeled and cubed ¼ in.
1 medium Potato (preferably Yukon Gold): peeled and cubed ¼ in.
3 large cloves of Garlic: finely chopped
S & P
2 pieces Pancetta or Bacon: fried in small frying pan and set aside on paper towels, crumbled when cool
1 or 2 large ears of Corn: microwaved (one at a time) in husk for 3 ½ minutes each, cut from cob when cool
handful fresh Dill: finely chopped
8 large Eggs: beaten
½ cup Manchego Cheese: grated
- Heat pan (not the one used to cook the Pancetta) to Medium Heat. Add Olive Oil.
- Add to pan: Fennel, Onion, Potato, and Garlic. Saute, stirring frequently, if food starts to stick slightly lower temp until it does not stick any more. Cook until almost soft 10 – 15 minutes depending on how small your cubes are – taste and sample to know when done, you don’t want raw potato. Add S & P to taste.
- Add: Dill, Pancetta and Corn. Add a little more salt for corn. Stir. Cook about 3 minutes.
- Add Eggs. Gently stir occasionally and slowly w/ fork to evenly distribute vegetables and eggs. You will cook about 5 minutes. The goal is to get the eggs to start to set up and get somewhat firm on the bottom.
- Turn on Broiler to low. Oven rack should be in the spot just below the center of the oven.
- Sprinkle Cheese evenly across the top.
- Put pan in oven under broiler. Turn on oven light. Pull up a stool and sit and watch. Frittata will rise. After about 5 – 10 minutes turn up broiler to High or put pan on a higher rack (just above the center). Continue to watch. It is done when evenly golden brown across the top.
- Let cool on counter for 5 minutes. Run a heat safe spatula around the outside of the pan. Then run it slightly closer to the center, moving concentrically closer to the middle of the pan until the Frittata is completely loose and transfer to a large plate. Slice into 8 pieces and enjoy!
Notes: You can make this without Pancetta or Bacon. You can also make it without Fennel or Corn. You can also make it without Dill or substitute Thyme or other herb you enjoy. You can also substitute other cheeses like Parmesan Reggiano or Swiss or Cheddar or use a combination. Use what you like and what you have on hand. The base is the Potato, Onion, Garlic and Egg. If your oven does not have a high and low setting for the broiler you can start the pan out low and then move it higher to finish. Even without cheese you are looking for an evenly deep golden brown top. Mainly when cooking you want to avoid raw potato and also raw egg, although you can decrease the above cooking times for a slightly undercooked egg if you prefer. Experiment and keep track of the heat settings you use and the time you cook and adjust accordingly (for example, my stove runs hot so I use the notch below “medium” when I am cooking at what is a “Medium” temp). When I’ve made this with less vegetables I sometimes just broil on High with the rack set at the middle placement. The key is to sit and watch for the golden brown top.
Jackie Peele
Forest Hills CSA 