I made this frittata for brunch last Sunday during the April heatwave. That week we had enjoyed several days of heavy heat and bright sunshine and the supermarkets were full of people in shorts and T shirts buying up barbecue food. This frittata seemed to me the perfect al fresco, late breakfast option for a hot summer weekend.

Now I’m sitting in layers of clothes and trying to resist putting the heating on. The weather forecasters are talking about a return of the beast from the east with plummeting temperatures and even some snow.

I had never made frittata before. I often do Spanish tortilla, carefully trying to invert the egg and potato mixture to make sure it cooks evenly on both sides but often ending up with food stuck to the pan. The difference with a frittata is that it cooks in the oven so with a well buttered baking tin (I used a shallow cake tin) you should be able to lift it out easily.

I used up a range of vegetables in this frittata – it’s one of those recipes which is perfect for using up ingredients you have in your fridge. So be flexible with what you use – green beans, peas, roasted red peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, or red onion would all be good options. I’ve made asparagus the star of the show here because last week marked the start of the British asparagus season (officially 23 April – St George’s day).

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 6 stems of asparagus, ends trimmed
• 1 courgette, sliced
• 1 leek, sliced
• Handful of new potatoes, sliced and pre-cooked
• 120g mascarpone
• 25g Parmesan cheese, grated
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
2. Fry the sliced leeks in butter or oil until soft and put aside, then do the same with the courgettes. Boil the asparagus for 2 or 3 minutes until just cooked.
3. Beat the eggs and then add the mascarpone – beat well and season with salt and pepper. Add the Parmesan cheese.
4. Butter a cake tin or similar oven proof dish and build the layers of the frittata – leeks, courgettes, potatoes and finally carefully place the asparagus on top.
5. Pour over the egg and cheese mixture and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes or until cooked (but soft to the touch).