(click on pic to enlarge)

This is a good lunchtime or breakfast dish. I use my grandmother’s old frying pan.  As of this writing I am an inch and one-half away from being 60 years old.  This frying pan is WAY older than that.  I think maybe 80 years possibly.  I love these old cast iron pans.

The reason I prefer this dish over a tart or a Quiche is I don’t have to mess with a puff pastry crust, which I like but requires more butter and takes away from the filling and needs a lot more effort to do it right.

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 1 TBSP cream
• Salt and pepper
• ½ cup grated Parmesan
• 1 onion sliced
• ½ cup frozen spinach (defrosted and drained)
• ½ bay leaf
• 1 thick slice of your favorite ham (cut into cubes)
• 3 TBSP butter

Preheat oven 375°.

In a large bowl add eggs, cream, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese and whisk.

In an oven-proof pan sauté the ham in the butter 5 to 8 minutes.  Add onions one handful at a time and sauté.  The reason I say add the onion a handful at a time is the onion will have a lot of water in it and the water will steam the onions and cool the pan.  It’s better to brown the onions slightly picking up the flavors of the ham.  Add the bay leaf.  Add spinach. Stir and sauté the ingredients a little more.  Turn off heat and let the onions cool a little.

Add the onions a large spoonful at a time to the egg mixture.  As you add the onions whisk.  Repeat this until all the onions are added to the mixture.

Pour the onion/egg mixture back into the pan add more Parmesan cheese on top.

Place the pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Serve.

I love this dish.  It makes me feel so, shall we how should I say, Italian…ish.