Kumara, Ham and Fetta Frittata

April 21, 2005

A frittata is a very handy dish to have in your culinary repertoire. It makes an ideal luncheon dish and is also excellent picnic food. You can serve one for brunch or cut it into small wedges and serve as part of a buffet meal. Or you can get older children to whip one up for a snack during the school holidays.

It's also useful for using up leftovers such as salami ends or cold potatoes and other vegetables.

When you are finishing the frittata under the grill, if your frying pan has a plastic handle, make sure it doesn't go under the grill. I usually leave it jutting out of the open oven, or it can be protected with some foil.

Kumara, Ham and Feta Frittata

3 medium gold kumara (about 250g)
1 medium red onion
1 red and 1 yellow pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 cups diced ham
6 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly milled pepper
a dozen caper berries
100g feta
bunch basil (keep some for garnish)

Peel or scrub the kumara and boil or microwave till tender. Slice the onion. Remove the core and seeds from the peppers. Slice peppers.

Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan and add the onions and peppers and saute till tender. Dice the cooked kumara and add to the pan with the ham and caper berries and cook a further couple of minutes. Mix the contents of the pan so they are evenly distributed. Turn on the oven griller.

Beat the eggs, add a few chopped basil leaves and the seasoning and pour into the pan, giving it a quick shake so the egg goes through to the bottom. Turn the heat down to medium and cook until the egg sets and starts to brown on the bottom. Strew over the diced feta and place the pan under the griller. Leave the door open and grill until the cheese starts to brown a little. Remove from the oven.

Gently ease the frittata away from the pan base with a spatula. Invert a plate over the pan and turn the pan upside down. The frittata will come out upside down. Place a serving plate on top and invert again so the frittata is top uppermost on the plate.

Serve warm or at room temperature, strewing over some basil leaves just before serving. It goes well with a salad and a well-flavoured vinaigrette. Serves four.