Chorizo Frittata

Course Breakfast

Keyword Cayenne Pepper, Serrano Pepper

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1

Servings servings

Calories 516kcal

Equipment

Skillet with flame proof handle

Ingredients

2 medium-size red cayenne or serrano chilies cut crosswise on the diagonal into 1/4 inch slices, seeds and all
8 extra-large, free-range eggs
2/3 cup full cream milk and heavy cream half and half
2 ounces grated parmesan
1 heaped teaspoon dried French tarragon
1 1/2 heaped teaspoons ground sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 can chickpeas 14-ounce can, rinsed and drained
4 1/2 ounces spicy chorizo sausage skin-on and sliced into 1/3-inch rounds
2 medium-size potatoes peeled and halved
4 1/2 ounces medium-size brown mushrooms cut into 1/3-inch slices, stalks and all
4 ounces goat cheese the mid-priced sort that comes in a cylinder shape is grand. Cut into 1/3-inch rounds.
2 tablespoons salted butter

Instructions

Preparing the ingredients

First, par-boil the potatoes. Set them in a pan on high heat in enough water to cover them. Add a heaped teaspoon salt and bring them to the boil. As soon as that happens, cover the pan, drop the heat to low, and let the potatoes simmer away until just tender – about 7 minutes. Drain them and set aside to cool.
Time now for the rest of the fillings. Melt 1 level tablespoon butter in a big skillet on a medium-high heat. As the butter starts to foam, add the drained chickpeas, and spread them around in a single, even layer. You’re aiming here to sort of gently stir fry them for about four minutes so they pick up a good golden colour and get some crispness all over their outsides.
Keep them moving about the skillet and do take care here that they don’t start to char. Good. Get them off the heat and use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a dish.
Now cut the par-boiled potatoes into 1/3 inch slices – to match the thickness of the chorizo and the mushrooms.
Return the skillet to that medium-high heat and add the chorizo slices. Fry them for about two minutes on each side so that they pick up some flecks of color and begin to melt out some of their lovely paprika-red fat. Add the potatoes, mushrooms, cayennes, and another level tablespoon butter.
That’s now going to be a pretty full skillet - with everything sizzling away on medium-high. As much as you can, spread it all out so you have a single layer with the chorizo, cayennes, mushroom, and potatoes fairly evenly spaced around the skillet. Fry for another three minutes and then carefully turn everything for another three minutes’ frying. Good, that’s the fillings all done. Take the skillet off the heat and set aside while you deal with the eggs.
In a good size mixing bowl, beat the eggs together with the milk, heavy cream, Parmesan, tarragon, salt, and black pepper. You want to beat the mix fairly slowly until the eggs are just barely combined with the other ingredients. Don’t overdo this. Just barely combined is all you’re aiming for, nothing more. Time now to cook your frittata.

Cooking the frittata

Turn your broiler to high and set a rack beneath it with enough space to easily slide in your skillet - allowing about three inches between the broiler’s flame and the top of the skillet.
Return the skillet to a medium high heat with all its fillings – but not yet the toasted chickpeas. As soon as it all starts sizzling, pour in the egg mix. Time now for a few minutes’ gentle work with a broad, flexible spatula while the skillet’s on that medium high heat.
Use the spatula to give the egg mix and fillings a single, sweeping stir that covers the entire base of the skillet. Good. Now add the toasted chickpeas evenly all over the top.
The egg mix will quickly start to set from the edges of skillet first. That’s great. As the edges begin to set, lift them a little with the spatula and tip the skillet so that still-liquid mix from the skillet’s middle runs under the lifted edge.
Repeat this lift-and-tip process all round the edges, until all the egg mix has just barely set. This should take about four minutes - then immediately take the skillet off the heat.
Quick as you can, dot the rounds of goat cheese on top of the frittata. Nearly done.
Now slide the skillet under the hot broiler for about three minutes. You want to give the top a nice golden colour as the goat’s cheese starts to melt – and the whole frittata starts to rise a bit. Remove from the broiler, done. Let the frittata sit for five minutes, then cut it into quarters and serve - ideally with our fab chilli jelly (see the recipe below.)

Notes

To make this frittata, you’ll need a big, deep-ish skillet with a flameproof handle – it’s going to go under the broiler/grill for the final cooking. I used a heavy, metal-handled, 12-inch one that’s a good two inches deep.

Nutrition