Last Night's Dinner #109: Asparagus Bacon and Parmigiano-Reggiano Frittata

A new Italian cafe opened up in my neighborhood so I gave it a go last week. I ended up spending $12 for lunch - a tiny (really tiny) piece of frittata with a simple salad with crunchy proscuitto. The frittata was tough, underseasoned and the proscuitto was definitely not crunchy! I wanted to try making a better version of the meal (tooting horn warning)... I think I may have :)



You'll need:
5 eggs
1/2 cup milk (better if you have 1/4 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup milk)
4 strips of bacon cut into 1/4 inch pieces
3 asparagus strips cut into bite size pieces
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1 shallot finely sliced
1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 thyme sprigs, leaves finely chopped
1 rosemary sprig, leaves finely chopped
salt & pepper

for Salad:
mixed greens
6 slices of proscuitto, crisped up
goat cheese
balsamic & olive oil


Step 1. Roast the veggies. Toss trimmed asparagus, shallots, garlic with some olive oil. Season well with salt and pepper. Bake for about 8 minutes in a preheated 350 degree F oven.


You'll notice the skins start to blister up


Cut diagonally into bite size pieces


Step 2. Heat up a 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and cook bacon. Cook until almost crispy. Then add roasted veggies, including shallots and garlic. Add thyme and rosemary. Add a pinch of salt.

** By the way, you can finish the frittata in the oven or cook the whole thing stove top (which I did). If you opt for the traditional way of making a frittata just make sure you use a skillet that's oven friendly and once the asparagus is done, increase the temp to 425 so it'll be ready when it's time.


Step 3. In the meantime, scramble the eggs with the milk and 3/4 of the cheese (save some cheese for the topping). Add salt.


Step 4. Pour in egg mixture into the pan. Control your heat so it's doesn't end up burning the outside layer. Stir the veggies into the egg so everything is well distributed.


Step 5: Once it looks set (above pic is not set) and you think you'll be able to flip it or flip it using the plate method (see Spanish Tortilla recipe) - go ahead and top it with remaining cheese then flip. It'll it be done in about 3 to 4 minutes on low heat. Transfer to a serving plate and allow to cool and settle.

** If you're going to use the oven, just wait for the egg to set (maybe 8 minutes or so) then top with remaining cheese and insert the whole pan in the oven and cook for 2 additional minutes.


Perfect with a goat cheese and crispy proscuitto salad!