Stinging Nettle and Fontina Frittata

Our family has a wonderful cabin on Anderson Island, the southern most island in the Puget Sound.  It's a small cabin overlooking the sound with a cozy fireplace and our go-to place to get away anytime we have a few days and no other plans. The weather was great last weekend so we took a short trip down to Ander.

The long, meandering driveway down to the cabin is lined with stinging nettles. I have memories of being stung quite often when I was little, trying to tromp through the woods making forts or whatever else.

I've been noticing stinging nettles more and more often around in recipes and being sold at farmers markets.  I've been waiting for spring so I could get down to the cabin to be able to forage some of my own nettles.  It's like having a driveway full of organic spinach... why not start eating some of it?

I came home with a bag full of nettles and an itch to make something delicious with them.  I came up with a Singing Nettle and Fontina Frittata recipe.  It was so good, and not too much work to get the stinging out of the nettle: well worth the effort.  Its mild flavor can be used in just about any recipe you would use spinach in. 

Look here for a note about foraging your own stinging nettles.

 Recipe for Stinging Nettle and Fontina Frittata:

1 cup stinging nettles (washed, rinsed, and blanched)
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 yellow onion thinly sliced
8 Organic brown eggs
3 Tablespoons milk, cream or half &half
3 0z Fontina cheese grated
Salt and Pepper to taste

Let your nettles rinse in a tub of cold water for about 10 minutes.  Place nettles in boiling water for about 3-4 minutes.  Immediately drain and place in a ice water bath.  Squeeze out the remaining water and now you have a ball of wilted sting free nettles.

Adjust top oven rack to be about 6-8 inches from broiler.  Turn on broiler.
Over med-high head add 2 tablespoon of butter in a nonstick or cast iron 10inch skillet. Add onions and cook 3-4 minutes until soft.
Add cooked and blanched nettles and saute another 2 minutes.
Whisk eggs with salt, pepper, and 3 Tablespoons of milk, half and half, or cream.  Add egg mixture to skillet.
On medium high heat, cook the eggs for about 2 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom with a spatula. Stop when the eggs are mostly cooked but still very wet. You want to see cooked egg scattered throughout, but loose egg in between.
Continue cooking on stove for another minute so underside sets.
Sprinkle the fontina on top. Put skillet under broiler. Let cook under broiler for 4-5 minutes or until brown on top and eggs are cooked throughout.