Asparagus and Bacon Frittata

Asparagus and bacon filling

1. Prepare the asparagus: wash the spears and pat them dry with a paper towel. Cut off a little of the very bottom of each spear, as it is quite tough and fibrous.

   

2. Fry the asparagus in olive oil. Heat the oil in a skillet and wait until it smells strongly and gives off a little smoke. Add the spears to the hot oil. Turning often, fry them until soft and lightly browned. Do not overcook them under any circumstances, you only need a light fry. Then move the asparagus to a separate plate.

   

3. Fry the bacon until crisp and mix it with the asparagus. Cut the bacon into thin slices and fry it in the remaining oil in the same skillet. This usually takes a few minutes. Dry-cured bacon works best, as it renders little fat and has a wonderful aroma. In shops bacon or a similar product is often sold pre-sliced thin, which is the ideal option.

   Meanwhile, cut the fried asparagus into pieces, as Italians say, “in one bite”, and add them to the skillet. Purely to make the finished dish look better, I suggest setting aside the tips of the asparagus spears for decoration.

   

Frittata

4. Beat the eggs. Crack the fresh eggs into a deep bowl, add a little salt and white pepper. You can use black pepper too, but it will be clearly visible in the finished dish. Beat the eggs with a whisk until well combined and smooth. No milk is added to the mixture, it is unnecessary and would affect the density of the finished frittata. Be careful with the salt, too, as dry-cured bacon is often noticeably salty.

   

5. Pour the egg mixture over the filling. With a spatula, spread the asparagus and bacon over the bottom of the skillet. Carefully pour the egg mixture into the skillet, spreading it evenly so that it fills all the gaps, and lay the asparagus tips on top of the eggs.

   

6. Cook the frittata over the lowest heat until the eggs are completely set. That way the bottom will not burn and the frittata will cook through its whole thickness. When the egg mixture starts to “set”, you can cover the skillet with a lid. This is the simplest option and takes about 10 minutes. Or, if you can, put the skillet for a few minutes into an oven heated hot to 200°C, or under the broiler (the handle of the skillet must withstand the heat of the oven). The frittata will come out firm and not watery.

Serving

7. Slide the frittata onto a large plate. Although the dish is meant for two, it is worth serving it on a large plate. A frittata slides easily from the skillet onto a flat-bottomed plate. If you like, sprinkle it with grated Parmesan before serving. You can also add a pinch of finely chopped parsley.

   

   Usually a frittata is served hot, but not right away. It is left to cool a little, about 5 minutes. They say it can be served cold too, but I have not tried it. To my taste, the combination of eggs, asparagus and bacon is perfect in flavor, aroma and looks. Serve tomato juice and fresh bread with it for breakfast.