Recipe: Spinach-mushroom-pancetta frittata for breakfast, lunch or dinner
An 8-inch cast-iron skillet is ideal for making this spinach-mushroom-pancetta frittata. Debbie Arrington
Frittatas – Italy’s answer to the omelet – can be cooked on top of the stove or baked in the oven. I prefer to do a little of both – starting the frittata on a burner, then finishing it at 375 degrees for a golden brown finish.
That means using an ovenproof pan that can take the heat either way. An 8-inch cast-iron skillet is ideal.
Pancetta adds an earthy saltiness to the mushrooms and spinach in this anytime frittata, which can be an entree for breakfast, lunch or dinner. (Chopped bacon or ham can be substituted for the pancetta, or skip the meat altogether. Make sure the chopped bacon is cooked through before adding the egg mixture.)
I grow my spinach in pots so I can move it out of the scorching sun in summer. But heat-resistant New Zealand spinach will work in this recipe, too.
Spinach-mushroom-pancetta frittata
Serves 2 to 4
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
¼ cup onion, chopped
½ cup pancetta, diced
2 cups spinach
5 large eggs
½ cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon hot red pepper sauce
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In an 8-inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Saute mushrooms and onions until onions are soft. Stir in pancetta; saute until edges start to brown. Stir in spinach, one handful at a time, until wilted.
In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add cream and hot sauce. Fold in cheddar cheese.
Carefully pour egg-cream mixture into the pan over the spinach-mushroom-pancetta mixture. With the handle of a wooden spoon, gently swirl contents of the pan so the filling ingredients mix with the eggs.
Transfer the pan to a 375-degree oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a thin-bladed knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes before serving.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3
November still offers good weather for fall planting:
* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.
* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.
* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.
* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.
* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.
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