Potato Sausage Frittata

The magazine column is in the October issue. The editor sent me a PDF of the layout on Monday — my piece on the left page, the recipe card on the right, a photograph they used of a cast iron pot over an open fire that's not my kitchen but captures the temperature of it. The recipe card has the finished version of the elk chili: the exact proportions, the toasting method, the non-alcoholic beer. The first time I've published the recipe outside of RecipeSpinoff. The editor says the October issue is their largest of the year.

Tom Whelan has started a second book. He didn't announce this as a decision — he mentioned it in passing on Tuesday, almost incidentally: I've been writing some more of the mule accounts. As if it had started on its own without requiring a decision. That's how it works when the door is open. You don't decide to write — you write, and then you notice that you have.

The aspens are turning across the valley this week. Full gold on the north faces, the cottonwoods along the creek going yellow at the edges. This is the week each year when Montana announces that it's done with summer, and the announcement is beautiful enough that you accept it. I don't resist fall anymore the way I did when I was younger, when each season's end felt like loss. The seasons turn. The next one comes. That's not loss. That's the shape of things.

Made corn chowder from the last sweet corn of the garden harvest — boiled the cobs after cutting, used the cob stock as the base. The sweetness you get from corn cob stock is cleaner than any other approach. Mom asked where the depth came from and I showed her the cobs in the pot. She said: I never thought of that. I said Tom Whelan's grandmother taught it to him and he taught it to me. The recipe's provenance goes back further than I know.

The corn chowder was already done by the time I thought about writing this down — that’s how it goes when a recipe lives in your hands before it lives on paper. But the evening called for something more, and with sausage in the cold box and potatoes from the last of the garden boxes, a frittata came together in the same cast iron I’d been thinking about all day from that magazine photograph. It’s the kind of meal that doesn’t ask much of you at the end of an October week — just a hot pan, good ingredients, and the willingness to let the oven finish the work.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 4–6

Ingredients

1 lb Italian sausage (mild or sweet), casings removed
2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Instructions

Preheat oven. Set oven to 375°F. Place a 10- or 12-inch cast iron or oven-safe skillet over medium heat.
Cook the potatoes. Add olive oil to the skillet. Add diced potatoes in a single layer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8–10 minutes until golden and just tender. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Transfer to a plate.
Brown the sausage. In the same skillet, add sausage and cook over medium-high heat, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, for 5–6 minutes until browned through. Remove excess fat if needed, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pan.
Soften the vegetables. Add onion and bell pepper to the sausage. Cook for 3–4 minutes until softened. Add garlic and smoked paprika and cook 1 minute more. Return potatoes to the skillet and stir everything to combine.
Whisk the eggs. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper until uniform. Stir in 1/4 cup of the shredded cheddar.
Combine and top. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the sausage and potato mixture in the skillet. Gently press the filling down so the eggs cover it. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheddar over the top. Cook on the stovetop undisturbed for 2 minutes until the edges just begin to set.
Finish in the oven. Transfer skillet to the preheated oven and bake for 12–15 minutes, until the center is set and the top is lightly golden. A knife inserted in the center should come out clean.
Rest and serve. Let the frittata rest in the pan for 5 minutes before slicing. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve directly from the skillet.

Nutrition (per serving)

Potato Sausage Frittata — The Last Harvest on the Table