Italian Baked Frittata

A good morning to you all...giving you a quick 'Tuesday Tulip Tip'  I love tulips but hesitate to buy them because they always droop within a day or two.  So a good friend gave me this tip. Take a small paring knife and just slit the stem about 1/4 inch below the flower and make a small notch about a 1/8th of an inch.I bought fresh tulips from Costco and made an experiment.  I notched each tulip except for one. Can you obviously tell the difference?  Hoping you can enjoy some fresh tulips as our valley has begun its annual tulip festival. Take a sneak preview of whats to come your way in the next few days.     

This is a perfect dish to serve for a Sunday brunch.  It feeds a small crowd and is filled with spicy Italian sausage and fresh asparagus combined with a mixture of Italian cheeses. It's best at room temperature.  This pairs nicely with a Ceasar salad or Lovella's freshly cut up Papaya Salad.

Italian Bake Frittata

• 1 pound asparagus
• 3/4 pound hot Italian sausage (loose)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• salt and pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons roughly chopped rosemary
• 1 1/2 cups ricotta
• 1 package of Italian cheeses (320grams or 3 1/2 cups)
• 10 eggs

Step one:

1. Heat oven to 350 °
2. Cook or blanch asparagus for one minute, bring water to a rolling boil,  then remove and rinse with cold water and drain. Squeeze moisture from the asparagus and set aside.
3. Heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook Italian sausage (remove casings from links first) stirring until it resembles well-browned and crumbled.  (6-8 minutes)
4. Remove the sausage and set aside.

Step two: 

1. Heat olive oil in frying pan and add onion stirring until it is lightly browned.  
2. Add garlic and rosemary and cook for one more minute.
3. Turn heat off and stir in chopped asparagus and sausage.
4. Let mixture cool in pan.

Step Three:

1. Spoon dabs of ricotta cheese over greens mixture.
2. Sprinkle with Italian cheeses.
3. Combine eggs in a bowl and season them.  Mix well.
4. Pour seasoned eggs over the mixture, tilting the pan to distribute them evenly.
5. Bake for 30 -35 minutes until top is golden and eggs are no longer runny at the center.  
6. Use a skewer or paring knife to check if it is cooked inside. 
7. Blot any access oil on paper towels and let it cool for 15 minutes.
8. Then cut into wedges and serve. 
9. This tastes best at room temperature.