Frittata Appetizer Bites
And we’re off! — preparing our Christmas extravaganza dinner, that is. The menu is well underway, as are some of the dishes, such as our famous Lobster Bisque, but I won’t divulge the rest of the meal until after the holiday so that it will be a surprise to my family. One of the few things I’ve been thinking of serving at the island is frittata bites, inspired by a “Bon Appétit” recipe earlier this year. So today I made a trial one with pancetta, which I will substitute with shrimp and/or smoked salmon for Christmas for a perfect fit with our exclusively seafood dinner. Here’s what I did, and with much success, I might add.
Ingredients
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
10 oz Bok Choy leaves
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
10 slices pancetta, chopped small
8 large eggs
4 egg whites
10 quail eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 Tbsp chopped chives
2 Tbsp chopped tarragon
Italian parsley or chervil leaves for garnish
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add quail eggs for several minutes, the remove with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool. In the same water, add Bok Choy leaves and cook for about 2 minutes. Drain and finely chop, then place in kitchen towel, squeeze out liquid and set aside.
Heat 1 Tbsp oil in nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer onion to small dish. Add remaining Tbsp oil to same pan and sautée mushrooms for several minutes until browned. Set aside when done.
Whisk eggs, cream, and pepper in large bowl to blend. Add chopped bok choy, pancetta, mushrooms and gorgonzola, stirring well to mix. Spray a 8x8x2 glass baking dish with nonstick vegetable oil and transfer mixture to prepared baking dish.
Bake frittata until set in center, 50-60 minutes. Transfer baking dish to rack and cool frittata at least 15-20 minutes. With large spatula, carefully lift frittata out of baking dish and place onto cutting board. Cut frittata into 20 pieces.
While frittata cools down, peel and halve the quail eggs.
Transfer frittata pieces to platter. Garnish each piece with half quail egg, parsley or chervil. Serve warm or at room temperature.
PS: This dish makes a wonderful breakfast or brunch. Just cut larger pieces! 🙂
RSA
