Recipe: bits and bobs frittata

There is chard down the allotment.  It's for some guinea pigs as buying fresh leaves makes feeding them shockingly expensive compared to one packet of seeds and time to grow.  Chard is like living lettuce: you pick off leaves and more grow.  It's rainbow chard which is a very pretty plant indeed with its varied coloured stems and leaves and it is incredibly easy to grow too.  We have it in two patches because in the summer we had to use any little spaces there were.

The gap is where the wigwam of runner beans stood.

Anyway . . .

I had some guinea pig chard and I wanted to use it too.  I was told you can use it like spinach so I made a bits and bobs frittata and it was delicious.

This is what I did . . .

Apologies for the poor lighting

Ingredients to make four portions (or two if you're being piggy!)
oil and/or butter
half an onion, peeled and thinly sliced
a selection of appropriate veg.  I used some sliced mixed peppers, some peas and some mushrooms, all from the freezer, just a handful of each.  You can use whatever you fancy really.
cooked potatoes (which I pulled from one of my potato bags in the garden - not cooked, obviously!)
some young chard leaves, roughly shredded.  I cut out the stems because I was told they take longer to cook
three eggs
a splash of milk
some finely grated cheese (I used cheddar)
seasonings (I used bit of salt, black pepper, dried mixed herbs and some mustard powder)

Method
In an appropriate pan, melt the butter, add the oil and gently fry the onions until soft.  Add the peppers, mushroom, peas and sliced potato, gently mix and leave to simmer and release flavours.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, crack three eggs, add some milk and the seasonings and whisk it well.  Then add half of the cheese and whisk again.

Back to the pan.  Add the shredded chard and let it wilt (about 20 seconds), then take off the heat.  Tip it all into the egg mixture, mixing gently, then tip the lot back into the pan and sprinkle the rest of the cheese over it.

This next bit takes time.  Put the pan on a low heat and just leave it to cook through.  Don't stir, but after about five minutes, gently insert a spatula around the sides to loosen it, repeating this a bit later
When it is practically cooked through (you can see this), pop the pan under a hot grill to finish off the top until the cheese is golden and bubbly.  My pan has a removable handle so I didn't have to watch out for it burning or melting.

Tip onto a warmed plate - it doesn't have to be upside down, just slide it out.  And that's it.  Enjoy with a salad or more veg. 

(wish I took better food photos)

I can't cost it out but the most expensive items were the eggs (reduced) and the cheese (supermarket own) and it made four portions so it has got to be reasonably frugal, hasn't it?