Monday, April 13, 2009

Frittata And Fennel Salad

My Uncle Hitch and very good friend Nick arrived from Ithaca yesterday to celebrate Easter with us on the farm. I have not seen the two of them since my last trip up there and it was great to see them, especially for a food driven holiday bonanza. My mother and Valerie went to church in the morning so I was left to prepare lunch and welcome our guests. I rarely cook on my own in my mom’s spacious kitchen, serving as more of a sous chef or bystander. I thought I would make something simple and relatively light for an early lunch and after perusing the refrigerator I found a ton of fresh eggs collected that morning from the chicken coop and some bacon. There were also a bunch of good-looking vegetables including bell pepper, scallions, and potatoes. I decided to make a frittata or Spanish tortilla; a thick fluffy omelet sliced in wedges almost like a quiche commonly served in tapas joints. Tortillas can be made with any combination of vegetables, meats, or cheeses and I went with what I had on hand. I simply sautéed the veggies in a large cast-iron, tossed in crumbled bacon and about eight eggs, and finished it under the broiler with some parmesan. The frittata ended up being quite tasty and paired excellently with the crisp chardonnay we were drinking.

The second dish of our lunch was a fennel salad inspired by Hitch’s recent trip to Rome. He was describing some of the fantastic meals he had out there, showcasing the use of incredibly fresh ingredients prepared simply, the essence of Italian cuisine. Hitch prepared the salad by tossing thinly sliced fennel with lemon juice, olive oil, and kosher salt, letting the ingredients speak for themselves without excessive ornamentation. The light licorice flavor of the raw fennel married well with the citrus and good Italian olive oil making a refreshing salad. I love raw vegetable salads, which are both good to eat and good for you and this was a real delight, a dish I will be making again as spring gets into full bloom. As always, I encourage you to enjoy and share delicious food and home cooked meals with yourself and others!

2 comments:

anna.roth said...

what a lovely-sounding lunch, and so typical of good times on the farm. Fresh eggs make all the difference.

Amelia said...

Fennel was soooo good.