We love eating greens. Here at the farm, we eat a big pile of cooked greens every single morning for breakfast (topped with two fried eggs and a side of toast).
There are so many delicious ways to eat sautéed greens (such as at breakfast), but sometimes, you just want to make them more of a meal. We find that the flexible frittata (aka baked omelet) is a delicious way to get more out of our greens — it’s a wonderful dish to eat for dinner or as leftovers the next morning for breakfast (maybe that’s how you can start easing greens into your breakfasts!).
At this point, we don’t follow a recipe but instead just do some basic steps with similar ingredients. Essentially, a frittata consists of a egg and milk mixture poured over a layer of cooked vegetables (and possibly meat) on a bed of some kind of starch (bread crumbs, cooked rice, cooked potatoes, etc.). The whole thing goes in a pan and is baked until the egg is cooked.
Start by cooking your greens and/or other vegetables. Sauté in butter/oil and salt and pepper to taste. Just like a normal omelet, almost anything goes — add onions, chopped ham, carrots, leeks, parsnips, whatever! (Although I must admit that when a roommate in college suggested putting lettuce in an omelet, I did find that bizarre.)
Meanwhile, grease a deep casserole dish and add a thin layer to the bottom of bread crumbs, cooked rice, or cooked potatoes. Once the greens/vegetables are cooked to your preference, layer them on top of the starch.
Beat enough eggs with cream that you’ll be able to cover your veggies and starch. We use a big casserole pan, so we often use 8-12 eggs at a time. If you’d like, you can add some cream cheese or chunks of hard cheese. Salt and pepper, and then pour into the pan evenly, making sure that most everything is covered. Bake uncovered at 350° until eggs have set. Delicious eaten immediately or as leftovers! Add a simple salad or toast on the side, and it’s a complete meal!
Elizabeth Denison from Denison Farms sent me these two recipes recently — they look delicious and I thought you all might enjoy some new ideas for cooking with the plethora of over-wintered leeks. The second recipe is a dairy-free variation on the first one. You’ll need two weeks worth of leeks, which some of you may already have stockpiled. If not, then save this week’s leeks and try these next week when you receive more! Before starting to prepare either recipe, be sure to have a piecrust ready!
Leek pie (with dairy) ~ Clean and slice four leeks into thin rings (use the white part and inner green leaves). Sauté leek rings in butter on medium heat for 30 minutes (yes, 30 minutes — cover if it seems to be getting too dry). Add ½ lb crumbled Roquefort or grated gruyere cheese, 1 beaten egg, and ¼ cup plain yogurt or heavy cream. Pour into a pie crust. Cover with top crust (the top crust is optional). Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes.
Elizabeth’s Indonesian Leek Pie (dairy-free) ~ Clean and slice four leeks into thin rings (use the white part and inner green leaves). Sauté leek rings in olive oil with ½ teaspoon salt on medium heat for 30 minutes. Add ½ can coconut milk, 2 beaten eggs, the juice from one large lemon, and grated lemon rind. Pour into pie crust. Cover with top crust (optional). Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes.
