SPRING FRITTATAS

Pair asparagus, the Queen of the spring garden, with eggs for a meal suitable for any vernal table. I avoided the frittata, an Italian dish very similar to a large omelet, until I owned a frittata pan. Now that I have the pan, I realize it's totally unnecessary. Any non-stick skillet or well seasoned iron skillet will work. If you use the oven to finish the dish you don't have to do any flipping, which is the purpose of the frittata pan.

There are so many ways to use a frittata: appetizer, side dish, or full blown main course. By adding different vegetables and cheeses you can literally have hundreds of combinations. Be adventurous and try your favorites. I recommend precooking any vegetables, and draining well before adding to the egg mixture. The frittata cooking time really isn't long enough to completely cook a vegetable.

You can also add cooked meats, for example bacon, sausage, ham, chicken, salmon, to the egg mixture before cooking. The possibilities are endless, and have led to a parade of frittatas through our kitchen in recent weeks.

Spring Frittata

2 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced, then cut the slices in half

2 T extra virgin olive oil

Salt and Freshly ground pepper

4 green onions, roughly chopped (save some of the greens for garnish)

6 slices of bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled

16 small asparagus spears, cut to about 5 inches

10 fresh eggs

One-half cup heavy cream

2 T fresh thyme leaves, plus a little more for garnish

One-half cup blue cheese crumbles

Preheat oven to 375°.

Add the olive oil to a ten inch non-stick skillet over medium heat. Place potato slices over the bottom of the pan, cook for a couple of minutes and turn before adding another layer of potatoes. Keep turning until they've all had a turn on the bottom of the pan and are lightly browning and tender, about ten minutes total. Salt and pepper to taste. Add the green onions and crumbled cooked bacon. Stir to combine and cook for a couple of minutes.

Meanwhile bring salted water to a boil in a small saucepan, and blanch asparagus for a couple of minutes. Remove to paper towel and drain well.Beat eggs with heavy cream, thyme, salt and pepper.

Pour egg mixture over the potatoes in the skillet and stir around to separate potatoes. Fan the asparagus on top of the egg mixture.

Put pan in oven and bake for about ten minutes. Then add blue cheese to top and continue baking for another ten minutes, or until eggs are set.

Slip frittata to serving dish, garnish with onion greens and thyme. Slice and serve.