Sausage, Red Pepper & Asparagus Frittata

What can I say… we are a family that loves eggs, and pretty much in any shape or form. Clint loves them because he can make scrambled eggs in a pinch if we’re in a quick bind for dinner, and I love them because they are so versatile. Since tomorrow is Father’s Day, I thought I would share an easy frittata that takes more time to bake, then time to prep which means a quick clean up! We ate this earlier this week for supper and everyone dove right in. This is perfect for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner, and makes great left overs… if you have any left that is! 🙂 This is my Sausage, Red Pepper & Asparagus Frittata.

I’ve spoken before about cost of meat (and how it can get expensive) and making more then one meal from one meat purchase at the grocery store. That is exactly what I did with this. I bought a package of banger sausages, and only needed two for this dish… that leaves 3 sausages left for say… a Sausage & Onion Pizza? 😉 In any event this meal will satisfy even the hungriest carnivore!

The Ingredients:

• 1/2 large shallot chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 bangers (style of sausage I used in this, honey garlic or a mild italian would work nicely as well)
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 bunch of asparagus, rough ends trimmed
• 3 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 12 eggs
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 2 cups (or more if you’d like) extra old cheddar cheese, shredded
• salt & pepper to taste
• splash of chicken stock (optional)

The How-To:

1. Blanche your asparagus:
   1. That means get a pot of boiling water going on the stove top.
   2. Throw asparagus in, and cook for about 2-3 minutes (until they are bright green).
   3. Remove with a slatted spoon and put into a bowl of iced water for another minute (this will stop the cooking process and still give you bright green asparagus).
   4. Once that is done, chop into 1 inch pieces and leave until later.
2. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
3. In a medium sized bowl add all 12 eggs and milk. Whisk together making sure all the yolks are broken. Add 1/2 the cheese. Set to the side.
4. In an oven-safe pan, over medium heat, add your sausages, casings removed.
5. Once everything is cooked through and almost brown, add the splash of chicken stock – this is to remove all the good crispy bits on the bottom of the pan. Cook until liquid is disolved.
6. Add shallots, garlic & red pepper. Cook until everything is soft (not browned).
7. Add asparagus, salt & pepper. Give everything a good stir, so it’s well mixed around.
8. Add the basil & egg mixture stirring gently. Don’t scrape the bottom, you want an egg ‘layer’ to form.
9. You will see bit of cooked egg start to mix around as your stir. Once that happens (it will take about 30 seconds), cover the top of your frittata with the remaining cheese.
10. Place in the oven, and bake for about 40-45 minutes. Until the top is golden brown and bubbling.
11. Once cooked, remove from oven and let sit about 5 minutes before cutting (I find that helps let everything settle).

And that’s it my friend! I found by letting everything settle, the frittata came out of the pan easily and without crumbling, giving me nice clean slices off egg goodness. Clint ate probably half of this in one sitting… that’s like 6 eggs and a sausage alone… wow.

As you can tell I’m apparently eating a lot of asparagus these days… I actually get a bi-weekly vegetable box delivered to my house (on the off weeks that I don’t do groceries) and it’s JUST what we need to help tide us over, and enjoy fresh local produce. This week I received asparagus, shallots, fresh basil, chives, potatoes, baby bok choy, carrots, beets, lettuce… the possibilities are endless! Each box is a mixture of vegetables, and it really forces us to come up with meals from whats in the box. So far it has been a huge success and I recommend anyone do it if you can.

And that’s it for me today my friends! Thank you so much for stopping by. This easy frittata would work perfectly for Father’s Day tomorrow, or a weeknight meal. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, and enjoys spending time with the people they love the most!

Oh and a few last minute details… I have finished reading The Hypnotist’s Love Story, so stay tuned this week for the Fuchsia Freezer: Book Club book review on this one, PLUS I still need to pick a book for next month’s choice! Please, please, please, share with me what you’re reading! I need something for next week soon! Also… It’s really hard… I’m trying to keep it a secret… but I really don’t want to… so all I will say is something AWESOME is coming this Wednesday to Fuchsia Freezer… you do not want to miss that one!

Have a great weekend everyone! Cheers! xo