3053. PUFFBALL, LOBSTER MUSHROOM and BACON FRITTATA

serves 6-8


1 1/2 cups puffballs, halved or quartered if large
1 heaping cup lobster mushrooms, sliced (discard any brown-fleshed pieces)
1 tablespoons bacon fat
1 tablespoons butter
salt
several pinches Herbes de Provence
7 medium eggs (5-6 jumbo)
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
6 strips maple bacon, cooked until firm and roughly chopped
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon Herbes de Provence

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a frying pan on low medium heat, sauté puffballs and lobster mushrooms with bacon fat, butter, salt, and several pinches Herbes de Provence. Cook until mushrooms are soft throughout, and begin to turn a caramel golden brown, at least ten minutes. Set aside. Heat an oiled cast iron skillet (9-10″) over low medium heat. Add additional butter, bacon fat, or olive oil to coat the pan if needed. In a large bowl, whisk eggs and milk, two minutes. And the reserved mushrooms. Add cheese, bacon, onion, salt, pepper and Herbes de Provence, and mix well. Pour mixture into cast iron skillet when it is heated, and cook for 5-7 minutes. Occasionally run a spatula across the bottom of the pan in a figure-8 motion, to prevent the egg mixture from sticking, and to more quickly distribute heat. When mixture starts to bubble through to the top (about the same time that a turn of the spatula reveals a large chunk of cooked egg), transfer pan to the oven. Bake for 12-16 minutes more, until frittata is cooked through. Remove from oven, and allow to cool slightly before serving.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Emma, of agates and madeleines, September 24, 2012