Pumpkin and sweetcorn frittata

Taken from "VEG: simple, stylish and seasonal vegetarian cooking" by Catherine Mason (Pauntley Press, 2001, ISBN: 0-9534879-2-8, price £12.99)
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This cheerful, golden frittata is like a ripe harvest in the pan. Excellent made in early autumn with fresh corn and the first of the pumpkin crop, it is almost as good later in the year, made from stored pumpkin and frozen corn.

  • 1 pumpkin (or a slice of one) weighing around 270 g (9 oz)
  • 4 eggs
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
  • ½ a Habanero or other hot chilli, finely chopped
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 cobs of corn or 170 g (6 oz) frozen sweetcorn kernels
  • 15 g (½ oz) butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, chopped
  • 110 g (4 oz) feta cheese, crumbled

First cook the pumpkin. Halve, peel and de-seed it and then steam the chunks until tender (anything between 5 and 20 minutes – they vary a lot!). If you have the oven on for something else you can bake it cut side down in the oven until tender. When it's cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh away from the skin and mash it coarsely with a fork or potato masher (leave a few lumps).

Whisk the eggs with a fork, just enough to amalgamate them, and whisk in the mashed pumpkin, chives, chilli, salt and pepper.

If using fresh corn, strip the kernels off the cobs using a small, sharp knife.

Heat the butter and oil in a 25 cm (10 inch) frying pan, then fry the onion over a moderate heat until quite soft (about 10–15 minutes). Add the un-cooked sweetcorn and garlic and fry. Don't cook it for long at this point, only a couple of minutes, as the corn should retain a bit of crunch. Spread the vegetables evenly in the pan, pour in the egg mixture, turn the heat down a little, and leave the frittata alone for 5–10 minutes, until the base is set but the top is still quite moist-looking. During this time pre-heat the grill.

Crumble the feta cheese over the frittata and put the frying pan under the grill, as close as possible to the heat source, for a few minutes until the cheese is brown and bubbling and the egg set.

Serve hot or (even better) at room temperature, with some decent bread and a crunchy green salad.

SERVES 2 AS A MAIN COURSE, 6 AS A STARTER

Recipe copyright © 2001 Catherine Mason | other sample recipes