Frittata Heaven

We had three friends over for lunch today. Michael, a long-term friend from Sydney and author of the blog with the big dog; Chris, his English companion and author of the blog of ever-changing bruises; and Phil Scott, briefly visiting from Sydney after another successful Cabaret production

Given that Garry and I are now into Week Three of our CSIRO diet, I had to create a tasty lunch that wouldn't violate our menu plan. In a moment of insanity, I boldly decided to bake my own Pumpkin & Spinach Frittata. I've only ever consumed Frittata by pointing lamely at dishes in the display cabinet of a local deli. However, today the culinary gods smiled upon me. After much whisking, slicing, and dicing, I eventually produced a dish from the oven that actually looked "just like the photo in the book". It even tasted like real cafe food. The recipe is below.

A fresh fruit salad was offered for dessert. However, Chris was most upset that cake wasn't on offer so after lunch we took a walk to Primrose Hill, stopping for a brief tour of local patisseries. Bondi, Michael's Malamute, attracted the usual flurry of comments and questions as we wandered through the park. I'll let Chris tell the rest of the story. The weather was also sunny and warm, reminding us of July's stunning sunshine.

The view from Primrose Hill was as refreshing as ever. It's starting to feel like a regular view of our hometown. London is clearly booming at the moment. Garry counted more than 40 cranes on the skyline. Most have appeared in the last six months. With luck, this mini-boom will hit Garry and he'll secure a job soon. After so many months he's been incredibly patient.

From left: Bondi, Mike and Chris

PUMPKIN AND SPINACH FRITTATA
Source: CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet
Serves: 4

400g pumpkin, cut into cubes
(I used 600g of butternut squash as I was cooking for five growing lads)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp soy sauce
2-3 leeks, washed and sliced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
300g baby spinach (I used two 225g bags)
8 eggs (I used 10 eggs)
400g low fat yogurt (I used 500g)
50g mature cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 170'C. Place pumpkin cubes on an oven tray, and toss with half the olive oil and soy sauce. Bake for 25 mins.

While the pumpkin is doing its thing, sautee the leeks for five minutes in the remaining olive oil, then add garlic and spinach, and cook until wilted. Tip mixture onto a work surface and chop roughly.

Whisk eggs, yogurt and cheese. Tip in pumpkin and spinach mixture, stir to combine. Pour into a non-stick baking dish. Bake 20 minutes until set. Mine took an extra 10 minutes thanks to the extra ingredients. I also moved it to the top shelf in the oven for the last ten minutes to brown the top.

My frittata was served with a mixed leaf salad, roasted asparagus (topped with mature cheese, bacon and onion) and baked mushrooms (I liberally doused them in white wine, covered them for ten minutes with foil, then uncovered them for a further ten minutes).

I can't help pointing out the locals in this photo desperately shoving their strollers up the rutted, grassy hillside. Barely 50 metres to the left of this image is a smooth, well-paved footpath also leading to the top of Primrose Hill. The English are truly mad.