We had some of our friends over for brunch Sunday morning.”Why don’t we make them poached eggs?” Oliver asked seconds after we were brainstorming brunch ideas. Oliver has a sort of obsession with poached eggs and has spent weeks (or is it months?) perfecting his poaching skills. But, true to habit, we still went browsing through our ever-growing cookbook collection when we stopped on one of Jamie Oliver’s recipes for a shrimp frittata. I had made it a few months ago and I remembered it being easy and delicious. “Maybe we should make a version of this instead? It would be easier to prepare beforehand, don’t you think?”. Oliver didn’t look entirely convinced, but as soon as I suggested a mix of herbs, feta and green onions topped with market fresh arugula, he was sold.
The thing is, when you have guests over, there is nothing more annoying than having to run back and forth to the kitchen. Don’t get me wrong, getting your guests in the kitchen to all cook together is on the top of my list of great entertaining, but sometimes it’s just not what you want. Frittata made our brunch preparations a breeze. I had everything ready in a bowl and just popped my cast iron into the oven as my guests were coming in, and 5 minutes later – literally – it was on the table, warm and rustically served in the cast iron. I also made a batch of chocolate and candied orange muffins the day before, our guests brought a lovely fruit, coffee and hot chocolate, and we were set.
Recipe (for 4)
8 eggs at room temperature
1 tablespoon of finely chopped parsley
1/2 tablespoon of chopped chives
1/4 teaspoon of dried oregano
1/2 lemon zest
1/4 cup of crumbled feta
3 spring onions, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
A small handful of arugula
Extra virgin olive oil
Squirt of lemon juice
Preheat your oven to 400F. In bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the parsley, chives, dried oregano and lemon zest. Stir gently. Fold in the feta and green onion. Season with salt and pepper. Place a cast iron (or any oven-proof pan) on medium heat and add a good drizzle of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the egg mixture and stir with a wooden spoon for 1 minute. Place the cast iron in the oven and cook for 5 minutes or until the egg has set.
In a bowl, add the arugula. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Serve frittata in the cast iron, topped with the arugula.
Enjoy the read!
Dawn
November 24, 2008 at 4:36 pm (15 years ago)I keep meaning to use feta for my next egg-periment. And now seeing this, it’s confirmed. Looks so tasty!!
Life for Beginners
November 24, 2008 at 8:09 pm (15 years ago)I know exactly what you mean about running to and fro when guests are in one area and the cooking to be done in the kitchen, obviously.
Simple brunch recipes like this are indispensable, really. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Darius T. Williams
November 24, 2008 at 9:24 pm (15 years ago)I say hand me some bread – I’d totally dig right into this – this looks absolutely great!
-DTW
http://www.everydaycookin.blogspot.com
Peter M
November 24, 2008 at 9:34 pm (15 years ago)Feta is a wonderful cheese for a frittata and this looks mighty fine.
Elra
November 25, 2008 at 12:03 pm (15 years ago)What a delicious way to serve frittatas, I especially like the arugula.
Maria
November 25, 2008 at 5:47 pm (15 years ago)Looks lovely! Feta is one of my favorite cheeses!!
Erica
November 25, 2008 at 9:38 pm (15 years ago)Your photographs are incredible! Want to come take all my blog photos for me 😉 This recipe looks really yummy and beautiful presentation! Thank you for the kind comments on my blog!
ttfn300
November 25, 2008 at 10:11 pm (15 years ago)thanks for visiting my blog!! i LOVE your photos, and will try to keep up from now on 🙂
Sig
November 26, 2008 at 3:25 am (15 years ago)I love making frittata for brunch guests too, easy breezy! I am digging Feta in eggs, I have to try this one soon.
Cynthia
November 26, 2008 at 7:12 am (15 years ago)Perfect. And I agree with you, sometimes you just don’t want the to and fro kitchen deal.
Kevin
November 27, 2008 at 10:10 pm (15 years ago)That frittata looks nice and fresh and green!
clueless
December 6, 2008 at 10:37 pm (15 years ago)This sound delicous i think i might add some kalamata olives and mushrooms…any ideas for a salad that uses spinach mango lychees and avocado?
john
March 10, 2009 at 7:05 am (15 years ago)Darlene found the recipe, and it was dinner last night, along with the 287th watching of Mamma Mia.
Excellent. Light and fluffy. Very fast to prepare. But we baked for longer than stated in the recipe. Darlene doesn’t like eggs runny.
John