dinner with Dave

My pastors provide our congregation with fruits of their labors during the harvest season; this year’s bumper crop of tomatoes and zucchini inspired Pastor Dawn to create this frittata-like dish, which I have expanded on here. It boasts of these rich autumn vegetables. The receipt is so easy that it cries out for many encores.

The traditional frittata, or Italian omelette, has a two-stage cooking process.  You normally begin making this egg dish on the stove top and finish it in the oven. One may even purchase special pans for preparing this.  However my simplified version is made in a frying pan, solely on top of a burner.

The original frittata is a cross between an omelette and quiche, which is comprised mostly of eggs with some vegetables.

“frittata”

On the contrary, my “frittata” is mostly vegetables with several eggs scrambled in.  There is no guessing with these easy steps of preparation. The result is intense flavor, good protein, and creative cooking with fall produce.

My beloved cousin and his wife, whom I hadn’t seen since 1995, were here for dinner several weeks ago.  We indulged in this European creation and my honeyed-lime kale with turkey. (See Cooking with Kale, 2016/09/07.) The presence of God and this delicious food nourished our souls during our lavish repast.

You will relish this “frittata”-it is so good!  Enjoy.

A Simple “Frittata”  Yields: 4-6 servings.

1 tbsp oil  (Coconut or avocado oil is best.)

1 med yellow onion, halved at the core and thinly sliced

3 med/large tomatoes cut in eighths

2 med/small zucchinis, thinly sliced

½ tsp dried oregano  (A great, inexpensive, organic variety is available at Trader Joe’s.)

3/4 tsp dried basil

4 lg cloves of garlic, minced  (May use 2 cubes of frozen garlic from Trader’s.)

Salt and pepper to taste  (Real Salt is best, available in health section of local supermarket.)

4 lg white mushrooms, brushed, with mushroom brush, and sliced

3 oz good quality cheese, grated

3 lg eggs, beaten  (I like to use duck eggs, which are creamier and higher in protein.)

1. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Place a small piece of onion in hot oil. When it sizzles, add the rest of the onions.  Cook until golden brown; stir occasionally.
2. Add chopped tomatoes, zucchini, herbs, garlic, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to med/low. Cook vegetables about 40 minutes, or until liquid is gone and sauce is thick. Be sure to stir occasionally. Watch carefully toward the end of cooking, so vegetables don’t burn.  (May set aside at this point and reheat, to finish recipe, just before serving.  Watch carefully when reheating, so as not to burn the sauce.)
3. Add mushrooms and cheese to hot sauce. Stir well.
4. Add eggs to vegetables; stir gently several times, as they cook. Cook until eggs are done. Mixture will be soft.
5. Adjust seasonings.
6. This is delicious served hot, room temperature, or ice cold.  Leftovers are great!