More asparagus and a new favorite frittata...

While I was in the market yesterday, I spotted some dazzling not-too-thin, not-too-thick asparagus and decided to grab a couple bunches... however, this meant I had to change dinner plans around for tonight. So we're taking a small break from our "traveling around the world in recipe titles" tonight and will finish up the trip with tomorrow night's dinner instead.

When fresh vegetables are in season like this, we try to make the best of it and really work on recipes in my to-try piles that highlight them. This would be why you've seen more than a couple asparagus recipes in the past few weeks! Jeff has proclaimed this snappy side dish, Chile-Spiced Asparagus, his new favorite way to eat this veggie. Quite simply prepared by cooking them in olive oil and a touch of water for just a few minutes, the diagonally cut pieces are then seasoned with chili powder, garlic powder and salt. Once crisp-tender, the asparagus are removed from the heat and given a sour edge with a generous splash of sherry vinegar. If you want a deeper flavor than what the chili powder can add, I would love to try this dish again by using a bit of smoked paprika powder instead!

I've mentioned in the past how much we love frittatas, but tonight's Crispy Prosciutto, Scallion and Goat Cheese Frittata made the others pale in comparison. Even though there are just a few ingredients, this dish has so much flavor and lets each ingredient radiate through the mild eggs. We began by sautéing green onions in a bit of olive oil, followed by the addition of large salty pieces of prosciutto that are left to cook until they begin to crisp. The two are then combined with a mixture of eggs, egg whites, a couple splashes of milk, sharp Parmesan cheese and a pinch of black pepper. This goes back into the same skillet and is slid into the oven to bake for a short time. Just when the frittata is almost set, we showered the top with crumbled goat cheese to give the dish a delicious creamy tang. Since my other skillet was being used for the asparagus, I ended up having to use a very large skillet (12") which left our frittata a bit on the thin side - if you use one that is smaller, it may take a few extra minutes to bake. We usually prefer to enjoy prosciutto without cooking it, but this dish has totally changed our mind - I can't wait for lunch tomorrow!

Recipes
Chile-Spiced Asparagus
Crispy Prosciutto, Scallion and Goat Cheese Frittata