From Mud to Mouth – Silverbeet and Goats Cheese Frittata

Here we go with the inaugural From Mud to Mouth Post. I feel very comfortable talking about food and engaging with other peoples taste buds. I’ve always had a passion for cooking and it has taken me down one or two interesting paths, including my own gourmet soup stall at a farmers market, an audition for UK Masterchef and I’ve teetered on the edge of opening a food business numerous times. Most of all though I just bloody love eating good food!

Who would have thought anyone would risk their culinary credibility straight up with silverbeet, the underdog of the veggie world. I prefer to think of silverbeet as an unsung hero – its ridiculously easy to grow, prolific, healthy and damned tasty when shown a little love. I also stated that From Mud to Mouth was going to be all about offering recipes that are seasonal and grown with my own fair hands (its in the supermarkets and markets at the moment). Don’t inflict your own veggie prejudices on your child, it is possible that they might just like things that you tend to avoid.

Max is a huge fan of this dish and it tends to go from mud to mouth in about one hour, that’s harvesting, prepping, cooking and eating! Frittatas are such easy things to make and you can hide heaps of sneaky veggies in there without anyone cottoning on. Max has acquired a taste for both silverbeet and goats cheese but you can replace those two heroes with spinach and fetta, broccoli and cheddar, zucchini and parmesan – whatever works for you and yours, there aren’t too many rules. The other big frittata bonus is that they score huge non-mess points, they are easy for little ones to pick up and gorge on. They are delicious hot or cold so make great picnic fodder.

Here’s the recipe, I would like you all to read it in the style of Jamie Oliver, full of flamboyant gestures and spittle.

Goats Cheese and Silverbeet Frittata

silverbeet a respectable bunch  

goats cheese 150g

eggs 5

grated nutmeg (delicious but optional)

butter a small knob (ooh matron!)

garlic – 1 crushed

salt and pepper (always)

olive oil – a glugs worth

These are the basic ingredients but there is no reason why you can’t add zucchini, peas, spinach, onion, potato or broccoli to boost the vitamin intake.   

Set about the silverbeet with a knife until it’s been roughly chopped. Throw it into a large saucepan with a couple of glugs of olive oil and the crushed garlic cooking over a low heat, put a lid on it, go and watch a bit of Dr Phil and come back in 5. The silverbeet will have sweated and steamed in its juices and will now be nice and tender. Try and get as much liquid out as possible using the pan lid to stop any of the lovely veg disappearing down the plug hole. Hit it with some salt and pepper.

Break the eggs into a mixing bowl, give them a quick whisk and throw in any additional veg you might want to add. You can get away with not cooking most veggies if they are chopped relatively small, but I would recommend pre-cooking onion or potato. Add the silverbeet, grate in the nutmeg, a touch more salt and pepper, sprinkle in the goats cheese and give it another whisk.

Run some butter round the edge of a non stick pan (20-30cm diamter), pour in the mixture and put it into a pre-heated oven at around 200 degrees. See what the latest is with Dr Phil and by the time you can’t stand to watch anymore (about 10 minutes) your frittata will be looking delectable. Give it a little wobble to make sure it’s not too obliging and stab it with a knife to make sure it comes out clean. Bon appetit people!

Next week I will be harvesting broad beans and making them do exciting things to your childs tatsebuds. Please, please, please if anyone is game enough to give it a go, let me know how it went.