Breaking a few eggs

What a surprise: within the palest green shell, a yolk the color of the setting sun. What does my coworker feed those chickens to produce such a rich orange color? I marveled at the plump, shiny yolks for several long moments before taking a fork to them, and was amazed that beating the yolks into the whites only slightly diluted their vivid color.

To accompany these gorgeous eggs, I had the perfect local ingredients: asparagus from a family farm in Yakima, WA (it was more than $.99/lb, but still inexpensive); baby leeks from Anselmos in Snohomish, WA; green garlic shoots from another King County farm whose name escapes me now. I’m still trying to find a source for local butter, so I used the California olive oil that Paul found for me. (We live a few hundred miles from California, and several thousand from the Mediterranean, but Paul searched three well-stocked local grocery stores before finding olive oil from California, rather than from Italy or Spain, or blended from several sources.) I don’t know where the black pepper was from, other than most recently our pepper mill. When our current supply runs out, I’ll look for peppercorns with a known provenance. As Jen recommended, I took all these yummy, mostly local ingredients and turned them into a frittata.

Mostly-Local Asparagus & Leek Frittata

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil (California)
10 spears asparagus (Yakima, WA - <150 miles)
6 baby leeks (Snohomish, WA)
3 green garlic shoots (somewhere in King County, WA)
6 eggs (Seattle!)
black pepper, fresh ground, to taste (somewhere far away)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut asparagus into inch-long pieces. Slice leeks and green garlic into very thin rounds.

Heat oil on medium in an 8- or 10-inch skillet. (I don’t generally like non-stick cookware, but a non-stick skillet would be good for this.) Add asparagus, leeks, green garlic and a couple of tablespoons of water. Cover skillet, and steam asparagus for 2-3 minutes. Uncover, and saute until asparagus is just tender.

While vegetables are cooking, lightly beat eggs. Grind in black pepper to taste. (Add salt if you wish; my husband can’t eat it, so I didn’t.) Shake skillet to distribute vegetables evenly, then pour eggs into skillet. Cook without stirring for one minute, until eggs begin to set around edges of skillet. Move skillet to oven, and bake 8-9 minutes, until eggs are puffed and set. Slide frittata onto a plate (this is where non-stick would’ve come in handy). You can either slice and serve the frittata immediately, or allow it to cool to room temperature before serving.

When I bit into the frittata, I wondered what ingredient added such richness to the flavor of the eggs. Then I realized that it was the eggs. While the leeks and garlic - almost melted into the oil by the time the asparagus was tender - contributed lovely green notes, these eggs had an intensity of flavor that I am at a loss to describe. Since words are failing me, I’ll just call it egginess. These eggs were eggier. And these golden, eggy eggs were even more beautiful and luscious in the presence of the juicy, bright green chunks of asparagus.

This morning, while a slice of Essential Baking Company’s wonderfully chewy Pugliese loaf toasted and the frittata leftover warmed, I watched Paul break a couple of store-bought Washington-state organic eggs into a bowl. Their yolks looked anemic; hazy morning sunshine to the frittata’s golden glow. I had thought that those organic eggs would serve well enough for the Eat Local Challenge, but I’ve been spoiled. A half dozen truly fresh, perfect eggs free from my coworker, and I’m hooked. The eggs that I’ve seen at the farmers market, for which I was never willing to pay the price? I’ll buy those eggs this weekend. All the way home, I’ll be looking forward to cracking one open. I’ll be hoping for a beautiful sunset yolk, but mostly, I want another taste of that egginess.

Technorati tags: Eat Local + Eat Local Challenge