Roast pumpkin and feta frittata

This post is sponsored by Minerva.

I visited Greece when I was 21. It was my second stop on a twelve month backpacking / working holiday trip around the world, and it was the country I was most excited to explore and experience. I’m really not sure why, other than it had always appealed to me.

I spent many days exploring Athens, including walking around and picnic-ing within the grounds of the Acropolis – certainly not permitted today! I was awed by the vibrant blues and the glaring whites on the island of Santorini and I adored the people, the culture and, of course, the food. I do recall not being a huge fan of Ouzo. Clearly I need another trip to Greece so I can try it again!

Given how many years have passed since that trip, many memories have faded – along with my early 1990s printed photos! However the one memory that is as strong as it was on that day in September 1991 is the one when I first really tasted a tomato.

I actually also had this for lunch today. With an heirloom tomato from my garden.

I was sitting on a hill overlooking the Acropolis in Athens, on my own, and eating my typical backpacker cobbled together picnic lunch of bread, salami, feta and tomato. I ate a version of this lunch on many of the days I was in Europe – bread and cheese was a constant. The other bits changed. And no tomato ever tasted as good as the one that day.

I should add I was never really a tomato eater until that holiday. Unless it came out of a bottle in the form of tomato sauce. Or as part of spag bol. My fave meal.

This tomato was a rich red. Fragrant. Juicy. Both sweet and tart all at once. Just like the type I now grow in my garden. Very unlike the type you buy in most shops.

It paired perfectly with the tangy feta and the oily salami. Its juices absorbed by the crusty bread.

I so clearly also remember the feta I ate that day. Feta was a rarely eaten cheese in my youth, and when it was, it tended to be the mildly-flavoured, soft and creamy Danish variety made from the milk of cows (however I did once, somewhat mistakenly, use feta to make a lasagne. No doubt my Aunt Collette will remember that fairly ordinary meal…). I certainly hadn’t tried a traditional Greek feta, made from goat or sheep’s milk.

Greek brand Minerva transported me back to that day in Greece when I tasted their P.D.O.* feta. Minerva make their feta using 100% sheep and goat milk from selected herds in the Greek countryside. It then matures for three months so it reaches its beautiful, rich flavour. So beautiful that I had to continually return to the shop to buy more as the first three packets I bought for recipe testing were gobbled down. Before a recipe concept was formed.

All in the name of research I told myself!

It’s a rare day when I don’t have feta in my fridge (along with at least 8-9 other types of cheese… what can I say! I love cheese). I use it in salads, sprinkled over tomatoey casseroles, on toast with salami and tomato (that combo never grows old!), in frittatas and fritters, quiches and other baked eggy dishes. I particularly love it in frittata, which is a meal I make often given we have backyard chooks who keep us well supplied in eggs.

Minerva also make a range of olive oils, including the vibrant green P.D.O. kalamata extra virgin olive oil (used in this recipe). Minerva is a member of the Australian Olive Association (the only Greek company in this association), and meets Australian Olive Oil Standards.

I use olive oil more than any other oil. I use it liberally to drizzle over salads and veggies, to dip bread into, and when grilling, roasting and frying.

This is one of my favourite frittata combinations. I adore roast pumpkin, and I included silverbeet because it’s currently going a bit wild in the veggie patch. You could sub that out for spinach, or for any other roast veggies. A frittata is also a great way to use up leftover roast veggies from that roast dinner.

The parsley and tomatoes in the salad recipe also came from my veggie patch.

I wonder if I could get a sheep and a goat to make my own feta? Sounds a bit tricky. And I suspect the neighbours might not be to impressed with that – or the local council given I live on a fairly small suburban block…

Roast pumpkin and feta frittata
by Mel Kettle, The Cook’s Notebook

What you need

• 1 tbs Minerva P.D.O. Kalamata Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 cups of cubed pumpkin
• 1 bunch silverbeet
• 1 cup roast red capsicum/ pepper (either roast yourself or use a small jar of bought roast capsicum/ pepper)
• 150g Minerva P.D.O. feta cheese
• 6 eggs
• ¼ cup of cream
• salt and pepper

What you do

Heat oven to 180c.

Place cut pumpkin in a large bowl with the 1 tbs olive oil, mix well to coat. Place pumpkin on a baking tray and roast for 20 minutes or until easy to cut with a butter knife.

Meanwhile, rinse the silverbeet and slice finely. Place in a large pot with a lid with about ½ cup of water on a high heat on the stove. It should all wilt down in about 2-3 minutes. Once wilted, remove from heat and drain well.

Crack the eggs into a bowl, add the cream, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper and mix well.

To assemble – place the roast pumpkin on the bottom of a lasagna dish, add the wilted silverbeet, the roast capsicum/ pepper, crumble the feta on top, pour over the egg mix.

Place in the oven and cook for 40-45 minutes.

Serve with the parsley and feta salad.

Serves 4-6.

Parsley and feta salad
by Mel Kettle, The Cook’s Notebook

What you need

• 1 bunch of Italian parsley, chopped finely
• 1 punnet of cherry tomatoes – mine were slow roasted, but raw is fine too
• 50g Minerva P.D.O. Feta cheese
• 1 tbs Minerva P.D.O. Kalamata Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tbs lemon juice

What you do

Place all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.

Serve with the pumpkin and feta frittata.

* P.D.O. stands for Protected Designations of Origin. This means that Minerva Feta Cheese  and Minerva Kalamata Extra Virgin Olive Oil is on the register of Protected Designations of Origin (PDO) in the European Union. The purpose of the law is to protect the reputation of the regional foods, promote rural and agricultural activity, help producers obtain a premium price for their authentic products, and eliminate the unfair competition and misleading of consumers by non-genuine products, which may be of inferior quality or of different flavour (source: Wikipedia).

Disclaimer: Please note that this post was sponsored by Minerva under the terms of my advertising and PR policy. For more information on Minerva products please visit their website.