“The mountains are calling and I must go.” – John Muir
It has been a pretty sunshiny week and weekend after a long time! And since Friday was V’s birthday, which he shares with John Muir (patron saint of the majestic Sierra mountains of California) it only felt appropriate to play hooky from work and hit the local hills.
The rains here in Northern California have been torrential through the first part of April. The good news is that the tiresome drought was finally declared to be over. The other good news is that the parched trees and dry hillsides of California have been revived, and it did my eyes and soul good to see the lush greenery. And since good news comes in threes, the third piece of good news is that my leg is progressively getting better and I am able to do short hikes which are not too strenuous.
On the food front, we are continuing to incorporate brassicas in our diet in different ways. For V’s birthday lunch, I made a simple arugula salad to go with a vegetable sandwich stuffed with red and green bell pepper and onions and grilled with truffle oil. And yes, arugula is indeed a brassica.
Continuing on with Veggie Sutra’s series on brassicas, the brassica of choice is the much reviled broccoli, used to make a frittata. The recipe is adapted from the book V got me called Brassicas – Cooking the World’s Healthiest Vegetables by Laura B. Russell. The book has very basic recipes that are easy to make even for a weeknight dinner.
I used my trusted 12″ Lodge Cast Iron pan which I could directly pop in to the oven. I strongly recommend getting one, even though it is a quite a workout to lift the pan in and out of the oven. If not, you may cook the broccoli in a regular saute pan and then transfer to a approximately 13″ casserole or baking dish.
Recipe for Broccoli Frittata (*not vegan)
Adapted from Brassicas – Cooking the World’s Healthiest Vegetables by Laura B. Russell.
Makes 8 slices (8 servings)
Ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 5-6 cloves garlic, minced fine
- 4 packed cups broccoli florets chopped in to bite sized pieces (save the stems to make a hearty soup)
- 1 cup grated pepper jack cheese
- Red chili flakes (optional) for heat
- 4 Tbsp ground flax seeds
- 6 eggs
- 1 Tbsp whole milk
- 1 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
- Salt to taste
Method:
- Pre-heat the oven to 400F
- Heat the oil in the cast iron pan, add the garlic and lower the heat
- When the garlic is fragrant, add the broccoli and saute for a few minutes
- Sprinkle some water on the broccoli, close with a lid and let the broccoli soften for around 5 mins
- While the broccoli is cooking, whisk the eggs with a pinch of salt, black pepper and a tablespoon of milk
- Open the lid, sprinkle some salt, flax seed powder and red chili (if using) on the broccoli and mix
- At this stage if you are not using an oven proof pan, transfer to a casserole or baking dish. Lightly pat the broccoli to make an even layer at the bottom of the pan or baking dish.
- Sprinkle the cheese on top of the broccoli
- Pour the eggs on top and cook for around 2 minutes until the eggs start to set around the edges
- Transfer the cast iron pan to the oven and cook for around 10 minutes, until a knife inserted in to the frittata comes out clean
- Remove from oven, and wait for it to cool a bit
- Slice and serve with some hot sauce
The broccoli frittata made for a very convenient, filling and healthy breakfast dish, which was super easy to make ahead for the week. You could also serve it as the featured dish at lunch with a green salad on the side.