Spring frittata with asparagus, peas, wild garlic and goats' cheese
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 10 to 30 mins
- Serve
- Serves 6–8
I love making frittatas. A deep baked omelette made with whatever’s best in season. I like a combination of veg, herbs and cheese, whether that’s ricotta, goats cheese, Parmesan or mozzarella. Serve simply with a green salad, or as part of a larger meal with some bread, cured meats and cheeses.
Each serving provides 209 kcal, 14.4g protein, 4.4g carbohydrate (of which 3.1g sugars), 14.2g fat (of which 5.6g saturates), 2.7g fibre and 0.53g salt.
Ingredients
- 250g/9oz leek, quartered lengthways and finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- large bunch of asparagus, sliced into small rounds, tips kept whole
- 200g/7oz frozen peas
- 60g/2¼oz wild garlic or spinach
- 8 free-range eggs
- 4 tbsp double cream
- 35g/1¼oz Parmesan, grated
- 2 lemons, zest only (though I like a little squeeze of juice to serve)
- butter, for greasing
- 120g/4½oz soft goats' cheese or ricotta
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve (optional)
- sprinkle of fresh mint, wild garlic, or dill, to garnish
- olive oil, to garnish
- squeeze lemon juice
Method
Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7.
In a heavy based frying pan, gently fry the leek in a generous amount of olive oil until softened (you don't want any colour here so keep the temperature fairly low and take your time).
Season with salt, then add the asparagus and peas. Cook for a couple of minutes, then turn off the heat. Roughly chop the wild garlic (or a large handful of spinach), add to the pan and stir until it wilts.
In a large mixing bowl, mix the eggs, cream and Parmesan. Season generously with salt and pepper and mix really well until thoroughly combined. Then pour in in the vegetable mixture from the pan, add the lemon zest and mix together.
To bake you need a deep-sided ovenproof pan, that is not too large (my pan is 23cm/9in diameter and 7cm/2¾in deep). A smaller deep frying pan would also work well, as would a deep 20cm/8in or 23cm/9in round cake tin (though you should line the base with baking paper). Butter your chosen dish generously, rubbing the sides and base liberally, this stops the frittata sticking.
Pour the frittata mixture into the prepared pan or tin and dot with the goats' cheese or ricotta. Making sure that each slice will have a good chunk of cheese. Bake for around 20–25 minutes, depending on your oven and thickness of pan this will vary. To test, pull it out of the oven and give the pan a wobble, you can easily tell if its still liquid or not, it should be set but with a slight wobble (don’t cook until it's set like a rock).
Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Turn out by flipping onto a chopping board, then again flip onto a plate, to have it cheese side up.
Serve as it is or with a sprinkle of fresh mint, wild garlic, or dill. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, squeeze of lemon and crack of black pepper. Enjoy!
Recipe tips
Frittatas are as delicious hot and melting from the oven as they are cold on a long walk. We make them throughout the year, pumpkin in winter, tomato and courgette in summer and in spring you have a wealth of options. I think once you get the very simple technique, it’s a great recipe to play with and use up whatever veg and cheese you have available.
If you are using spinach instead of wild garlic, another herb is great here. You could add a handful of chopped fresh dill, some mint, even both together. I also love baking frittata’s with sage leaves brushed with olive oil on top.
