The Best Pottage: A Surplus of Eggs

I have a confession to make; until last Sunday, I had never made anything in the quiche/frittata family, at least not on my own. My eggs are normally scrambled, fried, or in an omelet, and I'm really good at making them those ways! I always thought quiches and frittatas sounded like a lot more work. Also, I've certainly consumed my share of dried out or rubbery baked egg dishes, so I haven't necessarily been longing to try my own.

But peering into my refrigerator this past Sunday, it became very apparent that I had a surplus of eggs. Two almost-full cartons, in fact, and there was no way we were getting through all of those by way of scrambled eggs and omelets. I also had various accoutrements that happened to sound very good with eggs; prosciutto, spring onions, green garlic, asparagus, lots of cheese, and even a little milk! After verifying that the standard method is "pour it in a pan and stick it in the oven," I set about preparing the various ingredients. I eyeballed the amounts, used ALL 23 eggs, and after 45 minutes in the oven it was puffed and golden and gorgeous. I still love all my usual egg preparations, but honestly the pride I felt pulling this out of the oven was so much greater...I felt bad-ass!

It held up beautifully as leftovers - good thing, since it took us 3 days to finish it - but I definitely recommend reheating in the oven/toaster oven versus the microwave, which can make it rubbery. My only negative observation was that all the good "stuff" in it rose to the top during cooking, so there was a layer of just egg at the very bottom. This wasn't a big deal, but makes me wonder about proportions...maybe more "stuff" and less egg next time!

Asparagus Frittata

23 eggs (this was a very large frittata; you may want to halve this recipe!)
1/4 cup 2% milk or cream
several cups fontina cheese, grated
1-2 cups prosciutto, sliced into thin strips
1 bunch asparagus, cut on a bias into 1 inch pieces
1-2 cups spring or white onions, chopped
1/2 cup green garlic, chopped
2-3 TB parsley, finely chopped
plenty of grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 365 degrees (you can do 350 if your frittata is smaller)

Boil large pot of water. Add asparagus, remove after 2 min. Should be just turning bright green and still rather crisp. Plunge into ice bath/cold water to stop the cooking process.

Heat 2 TB oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic, cook 5 minutes until softened. Remove. Add prosciutto to pan, cook 5-10 min or until slightly crisp. Remove.

Beat eggs together, season with salt and pepper, add parsley. Add grated cheese, asparagus, onions, garlic and prosciutto.

Grease baking pan with butter. Pour egg mixture into pan, sprinkle with more parsley and grated parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30-45 minutes, depending on size and oven temperature. Frittata should be puffed and golden; middle should be set. Test with toothpick; it should come out clean.