Impromptu frittata.

Sometimes, I'll buy a bag of yellow onions. Most savory recipes can take an onion, so I figure it's good to have them around in bulk, even though they never keep as long as I expect they should and I end up having a surplus that need to be used before full-on shriveling begins. The reason I buy the bagged onions, ultimately, is for their size. They are almost always a perfect pool-ball size. There are few things that bug me more (on the irrational pet-peeve spectrum) than having to save a cut onion for later. And the loose onions are always so gigantic!

So, anyway, the onion surplus: it's not really hard to dispense with them, since caramelized onions are so delicious and easy to incorporate in any number of things. I made a pan of them on Sunday, then made a little sauce with the brown bits using red wine and stock and stowed the whole lot in the fridge. I toyed with the idea of a provencal onion pizza-thing featured in Gourmet recently, in which you make a yeasted dough and spread it with mustard and onions and herbs and grated cheese (yum) but...in truth, I was too lazy to deal with the dough part. Plus, who needs all those excess carbs? (Says the girl who made tapioca pudding two nights ago.) But I liked the sound of the mustard with the onions and the provencal herbs, so those ingredients found their way into tonight's frittata dinner.

No pictures, since my camera is wonk, but it wouldn't have been that attractive anyway. With all the gooey brown onions in there it basically looked like a big flat latke. Looks aside, though, it tasted pretty great. Here's the recipe. You could substitute the onions easily for any number of vegetable mix-ins: sauteed spinach or chard, mushrooms, zucchini.... Everything goes with eggs. You could also be a lot more creative and generous with the cheese if you've got it.

Caramelized Onion Frittata
Serves 4

1 lb yellow onions, sliced thin
1 tb Red wine
Cooking stock
extra virgin olive oil
1 tb butter

6 eggs
extra virgin olive oil
1 tb dijon mustard
1 tsp of herbes de provence or: your choice of dried thyme, fennel seed, basil, lavender
2 tb grated parmigiano, romano or grana padano cheese

salt & pepper

Caramelize onions: (this can be done ahead of time, the onions will keep refrigerated for a couple of days)

• Heat butter and olive oil together in a 10- or 12-inch pan over medium heat until the foam from the butter subsides.
• Add onions and toss to coat, season liberally with salt and pepper. Turn heat down to medium low.
• Cook onions, stirring occasionally, until they're a rich golden brown and very soft--this will take about an hour. (Slow and low, slow and low).
  
• Remove onions to a mixing bowl, add red wine, turn the heat up to medium, and deglaze the pan, scraping up all the brown bits.
• Once the wine has reduced some, add stock and let reduce by about a third--this should only take a few minutes. Basically, it will just start to look homogeneous and, if you're using a really good stock, develop a sheen.
• Pour pan sauce over onions and let them cool to room temperature.
  

Make frittata:

• Whisk eggs with about 2 tb of olive oil, mustard, salt & pepper, and herbes de provence

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If you have a spice or coffee grinder, I would toast the herbes de provence lightly and then grind it up very fine. If you don't have a grinder (like me), try this: take a wire mesh strainer and rub the dried spices (and dried lavender if you're using it) over the mesh with your fingers over the beaten eggs. You'll get a fine sprinkling of herbs, which I think is more pleasant than whole dried herbs (they can be chewy).

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• Add cooled onions & sauce mixture to eggs and combine well, then add the cheese.
• Heat 2 tb olive oil in a 10-inch saute pan over medium heat. Make sure you get a good measure of oil, this will help you turn the frittata later.
• Pour in eggs and cook for about five minutes. While cooking, swirl the eggs and pull them away from the sides of the pan as they start to set so you're distributing the liquid. When you're ready to flip, the top of the frittata will still be a little runny but the bottom should be set.
• Slide the frittata out on a plate, then add another quick glug of oil the pan (about a tablespoon).

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Now, there may be a more delicate way to do this but... flip the plate over your saute pan so the frittata lands runny-side down. There may be some frittata bits that splatter the stove. If you have a really wide spatula that might prevent potential mess, but it also might break your frittata in half. You decide!

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Once you've maneuvered the frittata back into the pan, let it cook for about three minutes or so, then slide it back out, finish with a quick grating of cheese, and slice into wedges. It's flat like a pancake, so 4 servings from a 10-inch disc is a nice serving.

I also made a little rosemary cream to put on top (which made it seem even more like a latke), but it's just as good by itself.