Frittata With Asparagus Recipe

Something my grandmother used to make a lot!

Prep time: Approx. 15 min.
Cook time: 20 – 30 min.
Temp: 350 degrees F.
Yield: 1 medium pizza size Asparagus Frittata (approx. 8 servings)

Asparagus Frittata Ingredients:

8 large eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
Fresh asparagus (about 25 sprigs)
3 small cloves of garlic
Extra virgin olive oil (Use the good stuff! I recommend Filippo Berio olive oil)
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/8 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 tsp. sweet basil

See below for VERY detailed recipe instructions

Directions:

First
You need to wash the fresh Asparagus. I use about 25 sprigs of Asparagus for this recipe. Chop up the Asparagus into 1/2″ to 1/4″ pieces.

* This is important, before you chop up the Asparagus you need to snap off the tough ends at the base of each Asparagus. You don’t want to just chop them off. My wife stopped me before I did this and showed be the proper way to snap off the ends. You have to hold the far thick end with one hand and with the other bend it until it naturally snap off the end. The Asparagus will tell you where it should be broken off. There is a special place the end wants to snap off, right between the tender and tough part.

After you have cleaned and chopped up the Asparagus you will need to steam them. For this you will need a small pot and a steaming basket. You need to fill the pot up with water until the water is just touching the bottom of the steaming basket. Bring the water to a boil, add the Asparagus then cover and steam for about 8 – 10 minutes. You’ll need to check it with a fork. If you can poke the Asparagus easily with a fork then they are done. If you don’t know what a steaming basket is or how to steam vegetables with or without a steamer, I have placed two video below to help you understand how to do this.

How to Steam Asparagus with a steaming basket

How to Clean Asparagus
(This video does a good job of explaining the snapping off of the ends)

…and here is a video that shows you how to steam Asparagus without a steamer basket.
How To Steam Asparagus without a steaming basket

After you have finished steaming the chopped up Asparagus, remove them from the pan, take them out of the steaming basket and set aside on a plate.

Next
Chop up 1/4 cup green onions. Set these aside.

Next
You will want to get a cast iron pan and add some extra virgin olive oil to the pan. About two tablespoons. Enough to just barely cover the bottom of the pan.

Next
Finely chop 3 small cloves of fresh garlic. Add them to the olive oil. Don’t heat the pan yet. You want the garlic to sit in the olive oil for a while. While the garlic is soaking in the olive oil you will need to prepare the egg mix for the Frittata.

Next
Add to a bowl: (8) large eggs, 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1/8th cup Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Mix all ingredients well with a fork.

Next
Heat up the pan with the olive oil and garlic. Do not over cook the garlic. Spray the insides of the pan with cooking oil. Then add chopped Asparagus, green onions and 3/4 tsp. sweet basil. Simmer this together for about 3 minutes on low heat.

Next
Add the egg mixture to the pan and stir.

Next
Put the pan with mixture into an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees F. Cook for approximately 20 – 30 minutes. Or as my grandmother wrote in her recipes, “cook until done”. You will have to keep a close eye on this when cooking. You will see it bubble up in some areas. This is OK, it will flatten back out when cooling down. Cook until you just start to get light browning on top in some areas. Take the pan out of the oven at this point and let it cool down. Serve right from the pan. YUM! This is very good cold as well. Makes a great sandwich with Italian bread and is also great by itself!