Rocket Love

On the second Saturday in September I had been given the responsibility of hosting and writing a quiz for the cricket team and as I had spent a large amount of the afternoon preparing for the evening I needed to cook something quick that would give me enough energy for entertaining club members that evening.

The meal of choice was a Rocket and Potato Frittata. The album of choice while cooking was U2's 1984 effort the Unforgettable Fire; U2 are a band that baffle me in that they are probably the most unoriginal band I have ever heard yet there is something about their passion that keeps you coming back for more. It is fair to say their music is reasonable to get you in the mood if you are having an action-packed night out.

I washed and then dried three large new potatoes, peeled them and cut them into thin slices. I next filled the bottom of frying pan with olive oil and placed the potato slices evenly on the oil. I fried them on a medium heat for twenty minutes and turned them periodically. I knew they had been fried for long enough as I could cut them in half with one hand using a butter knife.

The potatoes were then joined in the pan by an ounce of sliced rocket straight from the greenhouse. The trick in this part of the cooking was to continually pat the rocket down as it has a habit of expanding and floating on top of the potatoes and oil.

I mixed together in a separate bowl three beaten eggs, four diced stems of chives from my garden, a hint of black pepper and an ounce of grated Parmesan Cheese. I then poured the mixture into the frying pan and made sure it was spread evenly throughout as well as burying the Rocket leaves low in the pan. I found the best way of making the Rocket stay down was to push it with a metal tablespoon.

Before grilling- the surface was a little more runny than was acceptable.

While the mixture was cooking on the hob I preheated the grill and over the course of five minutes periodically shook the frying pan from side to side. After five minutes I placed the pan, with the Frittata still inside it, under the grill until the surface of it began the dry and the edges started to turn a chestnut brown.

I served it with steamed garden peas and it proved a filling meal what with the protein from the eggs while the Rocket gave it a strong, distinctive taste that was not overpowering. It only took a little over half an hour to prepare and set me up well to entertain members of the cricket club that evening.

Post grilling- the surface of the Frittata had dried up but there was still enough moisture in the dish to stop it tasting like rubber.