Mini Asparagus Frittatas

Italians are masters of re-purposing leftovers.  Leftover risotto?  Bread it, fry it, and make arancini.  Leftover parmesan cheese rind?  Simmer it in your soup.  Leftover roasted meat or vegetables?  Make a frittata.  The frittata has to be the best vehicle for re-purposing your leftovers because you can throw pretty much anything in there, including leftover pasta.  I like to make them with whatever roasted vegetables or meat that I have leftover in the fridge.  Add a few eggs, a little cheese, some prosciutto or pancetta (if you have it), and some fresh herbs and you've got one tasty and satisfying breakfast.  One of my favorite frittata-starters is leftover rosemary roasted chicken and potatoes - look for a blog entry on this soon!  But on this lazy Sunday morning, I'm making individual-sized frittatas with some leftover lemon-scented roasted asparagus.  Tip: I don't add any salt to these frittatas, because the leftover asparagus I used was well-seasoned and pancetta is quite salty too.  If your leftover veggies aren't seasoned or if you're not using pancetta, add a pinch of salt to the egg mixture.

Mini Asparagus and Parmesan Frittatas

(Makes 2 mini frittatas)

1/2 cup leftover roasted veggies, chopped into bite-sized pieces

2 eggs, beaten

2 TBSP Half and Half

2 TBSP grated parmesan cheese

1 TBSP chopped fresh basil

Cracked black pepper, to taste

2-3 pieces of pancetta, cooked until crispy and crumbled (you could use bacon too)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Spray two ramekins with nonstick cooking spray.  Divide your leftover veggies evenly among the ramekins.  In a small mixing bowl, beat the eggs.  Add the half and half, grated parmesan, basil, and black pepper to the egg mixture and whisk to combine.  Reserve a pinch or two or parmesan cheese for topping the frittatas.  Pour the egg mixture into the two ramekins.  Top them them with remaining pinch of parm and crumbled pancetta.  

 

The hardest part is waiting the 15 minutes for these little babies to be done!

Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and pop them into the oven for 15-17 minutes, or until the frittatas are completely set (read: no longer wiggly and raw-looking).  

DONE!

AND... in case you were wondering....

Lemon-Scented Roasted Asparagus

(Serves 2 for dinner + enough leftovers for 2 mini-frittatas)

1 large bunch asparagus, ends trimmed

2 TBSP olive oil

Sea Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Zest of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Arrange the asparagus on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Give the asparagus a little shimmy to ensure it's evenly coated.  Roast the asparagus in the oven for 15 minutes.  Remove the asparagus from the oven and IMMEDIATELY grate the lemon zest on top of the piping hot asparagus.  The two keys to this recipe: the asparagus must be hot and the lemon must be zested directly over it.  Ta da!  Lemon-scented asparagus deliciousness!  Simple and delicious with a classic chicken piccata.  (Will post chicken piccata recipe as soon as I get a post-worthy snapshot of it before it's devoured!)