I'm excited to begin a monthly series featuring simple recipes I've developed with ingredients from Hearts & Roots and other local sources. The focus of these recipes will be fresh and flavourful ingredients prepared simply and quickly. Who wants so spend hours slaving over a hot stove when the sun's out? Not me.

First up is my interpretation of a frittata. It can work as a breakfast to be snacked on into the afternoon, a dinner with a nice salad on the side, or a brunch with friends you want to impress with the word "frittata" even though it's super easy to make ;)

Ingredients

1-2 tbsp cooking oil of your choice
1/4 yellow onion
radishes - from Heart & Roots
2 cloves garlic
kolbassa - from Metro Meats
6 eggs - from Hearts & Roots
1/2 cup whole milk or cream
salt and pepper to taste
approximately 1/2 cup shredded cheese

Begin by chopping up and sautéing the onion, garlic and radishes. A cast iron skillet is best for frittatas, since they hold heat well and are oven friendly. (The lovely one featured in these photos is Le Creuset purchased from The Happy Cooker in Osborne Village.) You'll know the pan's ready when water droplets sizzle on it. At that point, add your preferred cooking oil, and once the oil begins to shimmer, add the onion, radish and garlic last.

I've included suggestions for measurements here, but honestly, I hardly ever measure when I'm cooking. If you like onion, use more onion, if you don't, use less. One of the nice things about cooking vs. baking is that measurements don't have to be super exact and you can play with it a little.

Make sure that these ingredients are thoroughly sautéed, since they'll cook very little once combined with the egg mixture. The onion should be translucent, the garlic fragrant, and the radishes will have lost most of their bitterness. Taste those suckers!

Then chop up the kolbassa to your preferred size and portion. Once combined with the previously sautéed mixture, use about half of the ingredients to evenly cover the bottom of the skillet. Leave on medium to low heat while you prepare the egg mixture. Begin preheating the oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together milk, eggs and salt and pepper according to your preference (A dash of each should be fine). By adding the salt and pepper now, rather than at the end, you ensure that the flavours permeate the whole dish. Also, the ratio of eggs to milk is more important here, as it will effect the creaminess and texture of the whole frittata. Finally, do not, I repeat, do not use skim or non-fat milk. The whole point of the frittata is that rich, almost custardy creaminess. If you prefer skim milk or water with your eggs, make an omelette instead :)

Shred the cheddar cheese and mix half in with the eggs and leave the other half to the side. Turn the heat on the skillet back up and pour the egg mixture over the sautéed ingredients in your pan. Then add the rest of the garlic, onion, kolbassa and radish mixture overtop of your frittata. Finish with the remainder of the shredded cheese.

Cook the frittata on the element only until the edges have set. Then, transfer the frittata into the middle rack of your oven. After twenty minutes, check to see if the middle has set. This may take up to thirty minutes depending on your stove.

Transfer quickly from the skillet to a cutting surface, or the frittata will continue to cook. Season with a bit of salt and freshly ground pepper, slice up like a pie, and enjoy!

The nice thing about this recipe is that you can play around with it easily. Experiment with different kinds of cheeses, meats and veggies, or add fresh herbs: have fun!

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Radish and Kolbassa Frittata