Pumpkin, Kale and Preserved Lemon Frittata
Winter is upon us and the heavy frosts have been hammering my vegetable garden. We have picked most of the vegetables now growing has slowed and there will be little more to pick until the days become longer. There is one veggie however, that keeps on giving and that is kale. At the moment I have four varieties on the go – Tuscan, Russian, Curly Green and Curly Red Kale. Luckily some of the chooks are still laying so we have have plenty of eggs and a friend gave me a box of Kent pumkins about a month ago which I am still working my way through.
What better way to celebrate all these wonderful ingredients than in a hearty frittata!
Four Types of Kale – Tuscan, Russian, curly green and curly red!
My kitchen is rarely without a whole pumkin in the cooler months. I chop it up and slow roast it to have it ready at hand over the next few days to form the base of a variety of meals. In this recipe I slow roast it with ground sumac, a berry with a tart lemony flavour from the Middle East. You do not have to use sumac if there is none in your pantry so I have given plenty of alternatives in the recipe however it works really well with the tangy preserved lemon to offset the sweetness of the pumpkin.
Pumpkin Roasted with Sumac
- 1/4 small - medium size pumpkin (I used Kent)
- 4 large handfuls of kale - roughly torn, thick stems removed
- Rind of 1 small preserved lemon finely cut
- 8 eggs - slightly whisked until just combined
- 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 red onion roughly shopped
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 tsp sumac - you can also use cumin, corinader seed, zaatar or ras el hanout
- natural salt and pepper
- 1. Cut pumkin into thin slices, arrange on baking tray and sprinkle pumpkin seeds around, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with sumac (or other spice) and roast in a slow oven until soft and caramelised. Set aside.
- 2. Add oil to frypan/skillet and saute onion over medium heat until turning gold and caramelised.
- 3. Add garlic to pan for a minute or two until cooked then toss the the kale leaves through with tongs until they are only slightly wilted and coated in oil.
- 4. Scrape contents of pan onto a plate and reserve.
- 5. Ensure pan is still coated with oil, add a little extra if needed and then add 3/4 of the eggs and start cooking over a medium heat.
- 6. After a minute or so when the egg has started to firm a little on the bottom then spoon the kale, onions and garlic evenly into the egg. Place the slices of pumpkin on top, scatter the crispy pumpkin seeds and then pour in the leftover egg allowing the pumpkin and kale to peek through.
- 7. Continue cooking occasionally tipping the pan and using a spatula to lift the sides of the frittata so that uncooked egg can run under the sides.
- 8. When cooked to your liking pop it under the grill to finish cooking the egg and crisp up any kale that is poking up above the egg mixture.
- 9. Serve straight from the pan as a one pan meal or with a crispy green salad with a zesty viniagrette!
You can run an egg lift under the frittata to transfer it to a serving plate however I like to serve it straight from the pan, it looks rustic and there is less washing up! It is chock full of garden ingredients so don’t worry if it breaks up a little on serving. Personally I find the preserved lemon adds enough saltiness to the dish so we just season it with fresh cracked black pepper.
Enjoy!
Pumpkin, Kale and Preserved Lemon Frittata
Wow! Another huge thank you Sarah. Didn’t know there were 4 kales! Good to know the red one is edible, I’ve been eying mine off wondering, raced out & tried it – very sweet, delish, Kaye