Samphire frittata with warm lemony courgette salad
A quick veggie supper after a day by the sea; marsh samphire can be foraged or bought locally in summer. It grows on muddy, sandy flats often on estuaries or creeks. Simply pinch out or snip off the tops to leave the rest of the plant to grow. Samphire is usually served with fish but also goes beautifully with eggs.
Serves 4 for the courgette salad
150g runner beans, sliced on the diagonal 3 tbsp olive oil Shallots, sliced Yellow courgettes (or green if you can’t find them), halved and cut into chunky slices 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 6 small vine-ripened tomatoes, halved or quartered if large 2 rounded tbsp chopped oregano leaves Juice of ½ lemon
for the frittata
250g new potatoes, sliced 2 tbsp sunflower oil 6 large eggs, beaten 50g samphire Handful of tarragon, leaves finely shredded 100g soft goats’ cheese
1 To make the courgette salad, steam the runner beans for 5 mins or until tender. Refresh the beans under cold running water and put to one side.
2 Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and cook the shallots for 5 mins until softened. Add the courgettes and garlic, and fry for 3 mins. Stir in the tomatoes, half the oregano and the lemon juice, then reduce the heat slightly and cook for 5 mins or until the courgettes are just tender but retain a little bite, and the tomatoes have started to break down.
3 Stir in the runner beans, add the remaining olive oil, and season with salt and pepper, then warm through. Keep the salad warm while you make the frittata.
4 Put the potatoes in a pan of cold salted water and bring to the boil. Cook for 15 mins or until tender, then drain in a colander.
5 Heat the sunflower oil in an ovenproof frying pan. Add the drained potatoes, and the beaten eggs, most of the samphire and the tarragon. Lay the remaining samphire elegantly on the top. Crumble over the goats’ cheese and season with salt and pepper (remembering the salty flavour of the samphire, so you won’t need much salt).
6 Preheat your grill. Cook the frittata for 7–10 mins on the hob over a medium heat, enough to set the bottom, then finish under the grill until just set all the way through. Add the remaining oregano leaves to the salad and serve it warm with the frittata.