A Home Reared Chef! Cook by Instinct, Recipe #21!
Call it what you like: a frittata, a pan omelet, an egg torta! It is still a giant omelet, whether you serve it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
For this recipe, I chose to use my largest cast iron skillet, a 15″ deep fry pan (weighing nearly 15 pounds!). I employed the help and genius of my Honeys—my cooking accomplice and partner. Though I will admit to being the bossy one, always wanting to be top dog and in charge—demanding things go my way (sometimes known to throw a tantrum!). However it always works out in the end, mostly because my husband is a happy and willing participant.
This torta/frittata/omelet is filled with bacon and sausage, vegetables, potatoes, cheese, and eggs. I must let you know in advance that this is by no means an easy dish to put together. It is very time consuming—about three hours of assembling (give or take)!
Ingredients:
(All ingredients are approximate.)
12 ounce sausage links, fried and cut into about 1 inch pieces
1 pound thin bacon, fried and chopped
1 tablespoon butter, divided, more if needed
1 tablespoon EVOO, divided, more if needed
1 tablespoon rendered bacon grease (or lard), divided, more if needed
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, divided
20 ounces raw mushrooms, sliced (brown and white)
1 shallot bulb, peeled and finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic
Red Pepper Flakes
Gray Salt (to taste)
1/3 cup cream sherry
2 pounds potatoes (red and Yukon Gold, unpeeled), diced small
8 ounces Cipollini onions, peeled and chopped
Chipotle (powder)
Gray Salt (to taste)
1 small yellow pepper, cut in about 1/2 squares
1 small red pepper, cut in about 1/2 squares
1 bunch thin asparagus (half of the spears with tips only), cut at about 1 and 1/2 inch
8 ounces baby zucchini squash, cut in 1″ long pieces
2 medium sized avocados, diced
Nutmeg, freshly grated (to taste)
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 cups Muenster cheese, shredded
2 cups Emmentaler cheese, shredded
15 extra large eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
Gray Salt (to taste)
Directions:
1. In a large heavy skillet (cast iron preferred) fry sausage until nice and golden-brown. Set aside on a plate with paper towels to drain. Spoon out as much of the grease as you can and save for later uses (including some for this recipe).
2. Into the same heavy skillet put the bacon fry. When done, put on a plate with paper towels to drain. Spoon out as much of the grease and save for later uses (including some for this recipe).
3. In a large non-stick pan, on medium-high heat, sauté mushrooms with (1 teaspoon each) butter, bacon grease and EVOO, for about 5 minutes. Add shallots, garlic, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, and salt and sauté about another 5 minutes. Add cream sherry and sauté until wine has evaporated and mushrooms are nice and golden. Spoon mushrooms on a plate and set aside.
Note: Preheat oven to 400 degrees
4. In same pan, on same heat, fry potatoes with (1 teaspoon each) butter, bacon grease and EVOO, and fry for about 5 minutes. Add Cipollini onions, Chipotle (to taste), Italian seasoning and salt and sauté until potatoes are golden—taking care not to burn potatoes.
5. Meanwhile, break all the eggs and beat with the creams and salt, and set aside.
6. Heat your bacon and sausage skillet and melt the rest of your butter, bacon grease and EVOO, and when grease is melted and sizzling turn off heat. Immediately add the potatoes, meats and all the vegetables (except the avocado) and toss gently but incorporate well.
7. Evenly scatter avocado, grate nutmeg all over, sprinkle the parmesan cheese, and, lastly, evenly scatter the Muenster and Emmentaler cheeses.
8. Pour beaten eggs and place skillet in the center of oven. Immediately turn down oven heat to 350 º F and bake for about 40 to 50 minutes or until giant omelet is golden. Let this cool for about 15 minutes.
