Little Pancetta and Cheese Frittatas

When looking to make canapés, I select a recipe based on three things:

1/ They look fancy, whilst also looking tasty.

2/ They taste delicious.

3/ They are quick and easy to make (preferably made prior to the party).

Whilst scrolling through pages of canapé recipes, looking for inspiration, a photograph of these frittatas caught my eye – they looked fancy and they were bite-sized. Exactly what I was looking for! After I pulled my eyes away from the picture, I was captured by two words: pancetta and cheese. I was hooked. They had me at pancetta.

My only criticism is that they come out of the oven puffy and full but, as with most eggy dishes, they do start to fall once they have cooled. After my first attempt at this recipe I had to adapt them slightly; the Gruyère didn’t pack as much punch as I had hoped so I used a strong cheddar instead. I also made a vegetarian option by using asparagus instead of the pancetta. Pretty simple really – I just grilled up some asparagus spears until they were cooked but still slightly firm. I diced them into small pieces before cooking them with the onion.

As a tip, if you do stick with the meat version, make sure that you use the best pancetta that you can. I tried this recipe with two different types of pancetta and the pancetta from Oyama Sausage at Granville Island was far superior.

Little Pancetta and Cheese Frittatas – Makes 24

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small brown onion, finely chopped
90 grams thinly sliced pancetta, finely chopped
8 eggs, at room temperature
75 grams of Gruyère (or cheddar) cheese, finely grated
1/4 cup sour cream and 2 tablespoons chopped chives, to serve

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Grease two 12-hole 1 1/2-tablespoon capacity mini muffin pans.

Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and pancetta. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until onion is soft. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Using a balloon whisk, beat eggs in a large bowl until combined. Add pancetta mixture, Gruyère and salt and pepper. Beat until well combined. Spoon egg mixture into muffin pans. Bake for 15 minutes or until set. Cool frittatas in pans for 5 minutes. Turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Place frittatas on a plate. Top each with 1/2 teaspoon sour cream. Sprinkle with chives. Serve at room temperature. 

The original recipe can be found here.

Cheese and Chive Blini with Pesto Cream and Prosciutto

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! I sure did! I had a great day filled with lots of pressies, good times with friends and a little too much sparkling wine and food. ‘Tis the season for over-indulgence, I suppose. As is becoming tradition, B and I hosted our orphan’s Christmas dinner at our place this year. All of our friends that didn’t already have plans with family joined us on Christmas Day for a late lunch of roasted lamb (I bucked the system of serving turkey). As is always the case, my timing for roasting meat was waaay off and so my late lunch plans quickly turned into an early dinner. Already knowing that falling behind schedule seems to be the case any time I host a dinner, I staged a pre-emptive strike by filling my guests up with yummy finger foods that I had pre-prepared.

This was my first time making these little guys but they were so easy and seemed to go down a real treat that I will be making them again when I have my “Cocktails and Canapés” birthday party in a few weeks. What I really liked about these was that I could make the blini (little savoury pancakes) in advance and then I just assembled them before the guests arrived. Ta-da! Super easy! The only thing I didn’t follow with this recipe was using snow pea sprouts but that was because I already had chives. It seemed more economical to use what I already had. Now I just need to come up with a way of making these vegetarian before my birthday but that shouldn’t be too hard. If you have any suggestions, send ’em my way!

Cheese and Chive Blini with Pesto Cream and Prosciutto – Makes about 36

115 grams (3/4 cup) of self-raising flour
Pinch of salt
185ml (3/4 cup) of milk
1 egg
40 grams (1/2 cup) of coarsely grated vintage cheddar
2 tablespoons of snipped fresh chives
2 x 200ml cartons creme fraiche
2 tablespoons of basil pesto
Melted butter, to grease
5 (about 50g) slices prosciutto, cut into thick strips
Snow pea sprouts, ends trimmed, to serve

Method:
Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre. Whisk together the milk and egg in a large jug. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, whisking constantly until a smooth batter forms. Add the cheddar and chives and stir until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

Meanwhile, whisk the creme fraiche in a medium bowl until it thickens slightly (do not overbeat or the creme fraiche will curdle). Carefully stir through the basil pesto. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Brush the pan with melted butter to lightly grease. Drop six 1-teaspoonful quantities of the batter into the pan from the tip of the teaspoon, allowing room for spreading. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until bubbles appear on the surface and the blini are golden underneath. Turn and cook for a further 1-2 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat, in 5 more batches, with melted butter and the remaining batter, reheating the pan between batches, to make 36 blini.

Arrange the blini on a large serving platter. Spoon the creme fraiche mixture among the blini. Top with the prosciutto and snow pea sprouts. Season with pepper to serve.

Recipe can be found here