Recipe: Asparagus Frittata

A Recipe from Jessica Prentice
Serves 3–4

I make frittatas all the time, using whatever produce I find in season at the farmers market. Asparagus is the great herald of spring, and so this is a perfect Egg Moon recipe.

  • 1 small bunch asparagus, about 3/4 pound
  • 1 large or two small leeks
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon filtered water
  • 4 hen’s eggs from family farm chickens, or 1–2 goose eggs, or 3-4 duck eggs
  • 1/3 cup cream, half-and-half, or whole milk (from a family dairy, if possible)
  • 1/4 cup grated cheese such as cheddar or Monterey Jack, or crumbled feta (cheese is optional)
  • 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
  • Pepper, freshly ground
  • Nutmeg—a little grated fresh, or 1/8 teaspoon powdered

Preheat oven to 300º.

Break off tough ends of asparagus. Cut asparagus into 1” pieces on the diagonal.

Slice leeks in thick rounds and put in a bowl of cold water and mix to get the dirt out.

Melt butter in an oven-safe skillet (cast iron or stainless steel), and when it’s hot lift the leeks out of the water in handfuls, shaking off excess water, and put in the pan. Sauté over medium heat until just soft.

Add the asparagus pieces to the pan along with about a tablespoon of water. Cover the pan and allow the asparagus to steam for 1-3 minutes, until just tender.

Meanwhile, mix together the eggs with cream, milk, or combination.

Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. (Note: Because I trust my source for eggs, I always taste my raw egg mixture to check if it’s salty enough. For my palate, the egg mixture should be salty enough to taste the salt, yet not overly salty.)

Add the asparagus to the pan and pour the egg mixture over, then add in the cheese, pressing it gently into the eggs. Let cook on stovetop over low heat a few minutes, and then transfer to the oven and bake until the eggs are just set—this may take as few as 5 minutes. (You can also finish under a broiler, as long as the pan isn’t too deep and you keep a close eye to make sure it doesn’t burn).

Remove from oven, allow to cool for a minute or two, and slice and eat. Serve with salad and good bread, and maybe a few new potatoes.

Full Moon Feast BookFull Moon Feast: Food and the Hunger for Connection — book by Jessica Prentice

Jessica Prentice is both a professional chef and a passionate home cook. She currently conducts cooking classes, writes a monthly New Moon Newsletter on her Wise Food Ways website, and offers monthly Full Moon Feasts in the Bay Area. She is a Bay Area chapter head for the Weston A Price Foundation for wise traditions in food, farming, and the healing arts, and a founding member of Three Stone Hearth, a community kitchen in the Bay area. Her new book, Full Moon Feast, is about food and culture.

Recipe adapted from Full Moon Feast: Food and the Hunger for Connection by Jessica Prentice. Copyright Jessica Prentice 2006 Chelsea Green Publishing Co. Used with permission.