Pastured Egg Frittata with Greens and Bacon and a New Toy

Our last Bountiful Basket provided a ton of greens; spinach, kale, green chard, and romaine galore. One of my favorite ways to use them is a in a beautiful pastured egg frittata, baked in a skillet after frying the greens in some fabulous bacon fat. 

I've made many a frittata, but with some little improvements every time, they've gotten better with time. 

BROKE MOMMA'S RULES OF FRITTATA

1) You can't cook good eggs in oil. Spraying Pam in a pan does not create the same tender flavor or easy flipping as using butter, or if you have it, bacon fat. If you are going to use fat, use fat. Your great grandmother used it and was most likely more healthy than our generation. Michael Pollan speaks to the use of cooking fats in his book, The Omnivore's Dillema.

2) Use cast iron. When its well loved, its not only non stick but also transfers to an oven for puffy frittata love.

3) Use pastured eggs. Back yard eggs. Their yolks are so orange, your frittata may look overly yellow. I buy mine from the Real Food Market in Helena because my city forbid urban chickens, something I am still sad about. There is a trick to pastured eggs too. I try and buy the cartons that have the label written by hand, not just the mass national brand or even the mass local producer. Try using the hand written cartons. They are amazing, and about $2.99 a dozen. That's cheap protein.

4) Use an Immersion blender to froth the eggs and milk together before putting it in the pan to bake. My husband bought me a beautiful stainless steel Cuisanart immersion blender for my birthday and this was its first trial. After I added my eggs and milk to a large bowl, I use the normal attachment, not the whisk, and whipped the eggs and milk together with the power of a motor boat taking off in the water! I was impressed, and the eggs were amazingly smooth. 

Here's My Recipe from Tonight-Following the Rules, Of Course

Bacon, Parmesan and Greens Frittata

1 pound of bacon, keeping the grease

1 cup fresh spinach

1 cup fresh kale

1 cup green chard

4 egg whites

7 whole eggs

1/2 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon Lawry's Season Salt

Heavy 1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan

* I cooked my bacon the night before, keeping th meat in the fridge and the grease in the pan to cut down on cooking time. That way It only took about 45 minutes tonight until it hit the table, 15 minutes prep and 30 minutes baking. You can always run all the work together, although it will take about 30 minutes longer if you add in cooking the bacon too.

Find some good bacon. Not shrink rap near the hot dogs bacon. Good bacon. Ours came from my parent's hog "Lunch" and I have three pounds left that I am rationing. Cut your bacon strips into 1 inch chunks and fry in a medium to large sized cast iron pan until cooked on medium heat. Remove your bacon, add in your three cups of greens and saute for 5-8 minutes until fully wilted. Turn off your stove top and turn on your oven to 375 degrees. In a large glass mixing bowl, add eggs and whites and milk. I used an immersion blender for ten seconds to mix the eggs and milk, but whisking for a minute will do the same thing. Pour in the eggs, add back the bacon, and sprinkle the cheese evenly on top of the eggs.

Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and puffy. You can insert a knife to check on whether its done; if a knife comes out clean and not dripping with eggs it is done.