South Florida Gardening

What do you do with a good crop of organic Swiss chard when you have a brunch to cook for? Well, you break out the bacon because it makes for a heavenly combination with chard, and then add potatoes for a happy threesome to pair with a load of eggs! Oh, and add some cheeses (especially goat) for some decadent flavor.

It’s wonderful when we have chard still giving in May and even early June in our South Florida garden, in part due to the fact that there is more shade in our garden than is normal for South Florida – with tree canopies all around. (The chard withered out on us in our home garden a month ago – too much sun/heat for it as summer rolls in.) The photo below is from a winter harvest; the Swiss chard in the garden now is a bit less vibrant looking, but still adds its usual flavor and nutrients to our dishes.

“Fordhook Giant” Swiss chard

As for the other ingredients: we like bacon on the rich side, to get some real flavor to come through – a thick, smoky bacon from Wellshire Farms does the trick; organic red bliss or Yukon gold potatoes; and of course organic eggs. There are also different cheeses you can use in this frittata. Since I was wildly adapting a recipe to begin with, and using other recipes for tips, I decided to try some Kasseri cheese because I like the way it incorporates into a cooked dish, which was a good choice. Now in place of Kasseri you can use another cheese; Gruyere or a sharp cheddar would also work well, depending on your taste (since the Kasseri may not be so accessible, I list these other cheese options first in the recipe). Of course I added some goat cheese and a bit of Parmesan. It may seem like a lot of cheese, but you can’t beat the flavors that they add to the mix.

After following the recipe pretty much to a “T” the first time around, I realized that it was missing onions! What was I thinking (how did I not catch that)?? Of course it needed onions, they are the perfect match for chard! On my second run, giving a thorough saute to a batch of thinly sliced onions (in the freshly rendered bacon fat, naturally!) made such a difference.

Prepare for a very “full” frittata and some decadence if you make this. It’s well worth all these great ingredients and provides quite a robust breakfast dish, or for any meal of the day really, why not?

So sorry there are no great pics of the frittata, will add one when we cook this again (next season!). We made a large batch of these for our Mother’s Day luncheon, and in the hustle & bustle, forgot to snap photos. 🙁

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Swiss Chard-Potato-Bacon Frittata

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

45 mins

Total Time

1 hr 5 mins

 

Course: Breakfast, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Swiss chard, frittata

Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 3 slices bacon
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced in half moons
• 2 medium potatoes, red bliss or Yukon gold
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 bunch Swiss chard, de-stemmed and sliced thinly
• 8 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup Gruyere or sharp cheddar or Kasseri cheese
• 4 oz goat cheese
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Instructions

1. Cook the bacon in a 10 inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat until evenly browned. Reserve the bacon, cut into small pieces. Drain and reserve all but 1 Tb of the bacon fat from the pan.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Add the onions and red pepper flakes to the bacon fat in the pan and saute over medium-low heat until the onions soften, about 10 minutes.

4. Cut the potatoes into 1/4 inch slices, then cut those into bite-sized pieces. (Peeling is optional.)

5. Turn the heat to medium. To the pan of softened onions, add another Tb of bacon fat, then the potatoes, salt and pepper. Stir occasionally while the potatoes cook, until tender, about 10-15 minutes.

6. Add chard to the onion-potato mixture (in batches, if necessary), stirring it in until it is wilted in a few minutes (See note about parboiling chard for recipes; if you parboil it, just incorporate it into the potato mixture which will take less time).

7. Stir 1/4 tsp of salt and a pinch of pepper into the beaten eggs. Turn heat to medium low, and pour eggs over potato-chard mixture and stir gently to mix. Using a spatula, lift up on the eggs as they begin to cook in the bottom of the pan to allow uncooked liquid to flow beneath them, working your way around the pan one time. This helps produce evenly cooked eggs. To the top of the eggs, add reserved bacon pieces, and distribute bits of goat cheese.

8. When the eggs are setting around the edges but still wet in the center, place the pan in the middle of the preheated oven and bake for approximately 5-8 minutes. It's important not to overcook. You can also place them under the broiler for the last minute to get a nice browned surface.

9. Grate Parmesan cheese over the top as soon as it is done. Allow it to cool slightly, and enjoy! Serve with a nice crunchy toasted baguette if desired.

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