Potato-Lovage Fritatta

In early spring, when the vegetable garden is at its beginning, with asparagus, because it is a perennial, the only vegetable ready for picking, there are the perennial herbs––lovage, sorrel, thyme––available for adding bright flavor to various dishes. I love sorrel's lemony taste, and have posted recipes for a Sorrel Onion Tart here, and Potato-Sorrel Soup here. Lovage is a large dramatic plant whose leaves look and taste like celery, a particularly pungent celery. It is nice added to soups and salads, and this recipe for a fritatta, which comes from Deborah Madison's The Greens Cookbook, is a favorite of mine for a spring meal. I still have some potatoes in the root cellar; although they beginning to sprout they're still good, so I used French Fingerlings whose waxy texture was delicious in this dish.



10 small or 4 medium potatoes (about one pound)
1 Tbs olive oil
3 Tbs butter
1 medium yellow onion, sliced into 1/4 inch slices.
salt
pepper
8 eggs
2 to 3 teaspoons chopped lovage leaves or 1/4 cup pale inner celery leaves. (I put in a bit more lovage because I like the flavor, but it is quite strong.)

1. Boil or steam potatoes till tender, then slice thinly.
2. Put olive oil and half the butter in a 10 or 12 inch non stick pan (I use cast iron) with the onion and cook at medium heat until it is soft and lightly colored.
3. Add potatoes and cook till they are also lightly colored, turning them from time to time. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
4. While the potatoes are cooking, beat the eggs, add 1/4 teas salt, some black pepper, and the lovage.
5. Add the rest of the butter to the pan, let it foam and then pour in the eggs. Turn the heat down to very very low and cook for 20 minutes. At that point the eggs will be mostly set. Put the pan under the broiler for a minute or two to brown the top.
6. Slice in wedges and enjoy, warm or at room temperature.