Yep, you read that right, kefalograviera is a Greek cheese, similar to aged ricotta or asiago. It’s a sheep milk cheese. For Greek Easter my cousin went to the Greek market in So. San Francisco and called me to ask if there was anything I needed and I asked for a hunk of this cheese. It’s one you can’t find everywhere and I haven’t had any in years. It reminds me of trips to Greece when our relatives would give us huge pieces of it to take home. And we would, wrapped in towels hiding deep in our suit cases.
The fava beans were freshly picked. We are growing them at Mills College on our campus farm and my boss very kindly picked a bag for me. I did all the prep the night before so I could quickly make frittata for breakfast. I had leeks and fennel in the house so I put a generous amount of olive oil in a cast iron skillet and sautéed the leeks, fennel, and garlic in the pan. I added the fava’s, splashed it all with some cream and simmered until the cream evaporated. I whisked 6 eggs and poured them into the pan, sprinkled the cheese over all and baked it in a 375 oven for 15 minutes. I gave myself a generous wedge and paired it with some ripe fresh apricots, melomacarona cookies that Claire brought back from the Oakland Greek Festival, and a great hot cup of coffee. A perfect Sunday breakfast.
Fava Bean, Leek, and Fennel Fritatta with Kefalograviera Cheese
6 eggs, whisked until well blended
3 T olive oil
1 leek, white part only, thinly sliced
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sided
1 clove garlic minced
1 C raw fava beans peeled
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 C heavy cream
1 T pesto
1 C shredded kefalograviera (or other hard cheese like Asiago or Parmesan)
Heat the oven to 375. Place a medium sized oven safe frying pan over a medium high heat, add the olive oil. Once the pan is hot add the leeks, fennel, and garlic, and sautee several minutes or until the vegetables are tender and slightly browned. Add the fava beans and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the cream and pesto and simmer until the cream evaporates. Using a wooden spoon stir in the eggs, turn off the heat under the pan, sprinkle the top of the frittata with the shredded cheese and bake approximately 15 minutes, or until the center of the frittata still jiggles a bit, but is mostly firm. Let rest about 5 minutes before eating. Serves 4.
