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You are here: Home / Recipes / Eggs / Pea, feta cheese and basil frittata

Pea, feta cheese and basil frittata

by Jeanne Horak on November 5, 2009 13 Comments in Eggs, Gluten-free, My Legume Love Affair, Starters & light meals, Vegetarian

PeaFetaFrittata

During World War II, 67,000 Italian prisoners of war mainly from the conflict in North Africa were sent out to South Africa where they were mainly housed in the Zonderwater POW camp in what was then the Transvaal. (You can read more about the camp here – but suffice to say that after the war the Camp Commandant Prinsloo was awarded both the Order of the Star by the Italian governent, and the Papal Order of Good Merit by the Pope, in recognition of his exemplary treatment of the Italian POW’s.  Many of them, including my sister-in-law’s late father, returned to South Africa after the war to settle there.)  Because of the labour shortages that the war had caused, many of the POWs were sent to farms to perform agricultural work during their time in South Africa, and it is in one such farm kitchen that my one of the first jokes that my mom told me as a kid was set.

The Afrikaner family had recently welcomed Giuseppe, an Italian prisoner of war, onto their farm.  He was grateful to be there as he had been shuttled around from place to place since his capture and had not sat down at a famiy table in years.  Although his English was as halting as the farmer and his wife’s they had managed to communicate after a fashion, and on their first evening together Giuseppe sat down at the dinner table with the family.  The farmer’s wife put the meat and potatoes on the table, and then returned with a dish of peas from the garden.  Delighted, Giuseppe cried [insert dodgy italian accent here]: “A pea! I have not had a pea in two years!”.  Gravely, the farmer turned to the three children and said: “Children, anybody who can’t swim should get on a chair!”

🙂

 

PeaPodWeb

 

PeaBowlWeb

Jokes aside, peas are one of the few vegetables that I have always liked, even when I turned my nose up at everything else green.  Maybe it’s their small size – more like little green sweets than evil vegetables; or maybe it is their sweet taste (I grew up on super-sweet Surfmaid tinned petit pois, remember…!).  Either way, I have always loved them, and now that I am all grown up and weaned off tinned peas (!), I also love the ritual of shelling them.  As far as I’m concerned, a sunny afternoon in my conservatory sipping on some chilled white wine and shelling a bag of peas is an afternoon well-spent.

This recipe was the result of having a glut of shelled peas, and a basil plant that seems to be on herb steroids of some sort – it has established a basil forest on my windowsill and scents the whole kitchen.  I never understood the luxury of fresh basil on tap until now, and now I’m hooked!  The sweet peas and the salty feta are a good match, and the basil adds a delicious pungency.  Together with the rest of the white wine and some crusty bread, this is the perfect summer weekend lunch.
PeaBowl2Web

 

PeaFetaBasilFrittataPanWeb 

 

PEA, FETA CHEESE AND BASIL FRITTATA (serves 2)
4 free-range eggs
about a cup of fresh shelled peas
about half a cup of feta cheese, crumbled
a handful of fresh basil leaves
50ml milk or single cream
butter
salt and pepper

 

Method
To cook the peas, shell and rinse them, then bring a small saucepan of water to the boil.  Add the peas and allow to boil for no more than three minutes.  Remove from heat and drain immediately.

Rinse the basil and slice the leaves into thin strips.  Beat the eggs together with the milk/cream and season with salt and pepper, then mix in the basil.

Pre-heat the grill in your oven. Heat a knob of butter in your favourite omelette pan (must be oven proof – no plastic handles or non-stick coatings – a cast-iron skillet is ideal).  When the butter it is bubbling, add the peas, then pour in the egg mix.  Crumble the feta into the pan.  Leave to cook without stirring until the frittata bubbles and is beginning to turn brown at the edges.  Remove the pan from the heat and pop under the grill for a minute or two until the top is just set and beginning to brown in places (I was impatient this time – my frittata is a little pale!).  Serve hot with wine and crusty bread.

As peas are legumes, I am submitting this as my entry into this month’s My Legume Love Affair, the legume-centric blog event created by Susan, hosted this month by Sra – and hosted last month by me!  Remember to check out my roundup for inspiration!

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  1. Kit says

    November 6, 2009 at 6:37 am

    This looks delicious and I even have all the ingredients on hand – a bag of peas to shell and two new basil plants that I haven’t managed to kill yet (i’ve only had them a week). Now all I have to do is work out how many, if any, of the kids will eat this if I produce it for supper!

    Reply
  2. Myfrenchkitchen says

    November 6, 2009 at 7:35 am

    MMM, I love fritatta and since I have everything,(have to get basil) I think this will be our dinner tonight. with a greesn salad and good vinaigrette and a baguette.It looks delicious Jeanne and beautiful pics too!
    Ronelle

    Reply
  3. nina says

    November 6, 2009 at 10:12 am

    There is something so romantic and rustic about the picture I have of you shelling peas in the conservatory…..I have only recently found out that my family actually loves fritatta!!Thanks for the lovely stpry!!!

    Reply
  4. Sunita says

    November 6, 2009 at 11:10 am

    Frittatas always receive a thumbs up in our house, especially with our 7 yr old son, so I’m very much liking what I am seeing here.I grew up shelling peas with my mother, and now whenever I get some,my kids help. And yes, quite a lot of it goes directly into their little mouths too 🙂 Thanks Jeanne for another variation of a family favourite.

    Reply
  5. Juliette says

    November 6, 2009 at 11:32 am

    That looks lovely, particularly with fresh peas. It’s always worth shelling them, IMO.

    Reply
  6. browniegirl says

    November 6, 2009 at 1:48 pm

    LOL….love your post-war story. And I too, like Nina, have this romantic imagery of you in the conservatory sipping wine and shelling peas :o) Delicious looking and sounding frittata xxx

    Reply
  7. Fiyola says

    November 8, 2009 at 2:43 pm

    I love the post-war story too and the remark by the SA farmer when the Italian says he has not had a pea in 2yrs is typical SA humour, which I miss loads here in NY. Anyway, as I am on a high protein diet, guess what’s for dinner? Yup, the fresh peas, basil, fritata. It’s a perfect meal!

    Reply
  8. Kevin says

    November 8, 2009 at 3:48 pm

    Great looking frittata! I like all of the vibrant greens in it!

    Reply
  9. sra says

    November 9, 2009 at 10:45 am

    Basil grows well in my city, despite it being quite a foreign herb to us and not easily available, but I’m yet to find a plant for myself. I guess I could use mint. I have the rest of the ingredients. It’s just laziness preventing me from trying out a feta frittata. It looks beautiful. Thanks for the entry! Loved the story and the joke.

    Reply
  10. [email protected] says

    November 9, 2009 at 9:28 pm

    I am Italian and I love the story. I love peas. We eat them with everything. Great with ground beef and onions. The frittata looks divine!

    Reply
  11. Kat says

    November 12, 2009 at 10:20 am

    Oh I love peas, and your photos are so beautiful. Peas + feta in a frittata is absolutely inspired.

    Reply
  12. Peter says

    November 17, 2009 at 10:49 am

    More Feta goodness…the colours here are striking. Great mosaic when you cut a slice.

    Reply
  13. Conservatories says

    December 18, 2010 at 6:31 am

    Really looks great! The four cheese frittata was so light,fluffy and delicious!I’ve been meaning to make frittatas more often as nicer breakfasts.We eat them with everything. Great with ground beef and onions.The frittata looks divine!

    Reply
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Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

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