Once a month, we’re going to look at ways to reduce food waste and keep our planet happier by using all those scraps that often end up in landfills and contribute to our environmental problems. The worldwide statistics are sobering, but we’ve rolled up our sleeves before to save these resources, and now’s the time to do so again.

We have a frittata or omelet of some sort every week either for breakfast or supper. They are also perfect for brunch, lunch, or even just a snack, and can be served up hot or room temperature. I’ve made a large one in a sheet pan, cut it up into little squares, and served it at parties as well. So delicious, so versatile, and they are the ultimate way to use food that might otherwise get composted or tossed. 

Easy and delicious

            It’s a simple process. Start with a little fat, sauté aromatics if need be, cook the beaten eggs over medium heat with the other ingredients to about three-quarters set, and finish it off in the oven. The omelet, even easier, just get the eggs almost set, fill, and turn out.

If it’s left over, I’ll probably toss it in

  Often, we can use up leftovers from a meal the night before, and since you want foods that are already precooked, they are quick to make. I’ve tucked just about everything in a frittata, often using up some little bit of vegetable or protein that might end up being wasted. Little bits of broccoli are wonderful here, as are asparagus, potatoes, and summer squash, all cooked of course. It’s a good thing to keep in mind while surveying the refrigerator as you figure out your shopping needs for the week ahead. What could I toss into Sunday morning’s frittata or omelet? 

Cheese is good, just not too much

            If you indulge in dairy, you can tuck cheese in the egg mixture, and also sprinkle a bit on top. Some dairy-free cheeses work well here too. Take care though not to add to much because the fat, while tasty, dulls the other flavors in the dish.

Don’t forget the greens!

            This is a great place to use those last kind of sad looking scallions, a slightly limp stalk of celery, the onion that is starting to sprout again, and use that sprout as well. You don’t want to use anything that might exude a lot of liquid or your frittata won’t set and will stay soupy. One of the best ingredients is just about any green – arugula, watercress, spinach, kale, collards, chard, lettuce, radicchio – especially if they are showing signs of wilting and you need to use them up, or if you just don’t have enough to make a salad. But you can add a lot too, they will enhance the frittata both with flavor and color, and you feel good about not wasting them.

Recycle that dinner

My family sometimes tease that I tuck away little bits of leftovers that don’t seem to amount to much, but sometimes they add a lot of flavor. I’m talking the last of an order of French fries that didn’t get eaten because they got cold, they were great in their new life, chopped up and joined by some frozen peas and carrots. Dregs from a sushi platter? Of course, and you can use even the chopped up shredded daikon radish and shiso leaves. This one was an amazing hit with all.

One meal morphs into the next

In the recipe below, I saved some flavorful olive oil dipping sauce I made the night before and used that to start the beginning sauté of aromatics; one meal around here often morphs into the next. Often, you’ll want to start with some sort of aromatic, an onion or leek, shallots, or even just scallions. Celery, peppers, carrots, add to the base, but are not essential by any means. 

Egg options!

You can make your cake with whole eggs, or use mostly egg whites like I did here to cut down on saturated fat. My eye deception trick is to beat the egg whites with my favorite Cholula hot sauce which adds lovely color so the frittata actually looks inviting. But we’re not going to waste those yolks. Whenever we use just part of the egg, the rest can be frozen. See tips at end of article.

Unique

Of course, all this probably means that no two frittatas will taste the same from meal to meal, but what’s wrong with that?

A few frittata ideas that have worked beautifully:

• Components left over from sushi including entire pieces of sushi, sashimi, the rice, pickled ginger, even the daikon radish threads and shiso leaves.
• Left-over spaghetti, and top the frittata with leftover sauce of just about any kind. I have to admit, one person did not love this one but said it was OK.
• Left-over hash brown potatoes and that last link of sausage or vegan sausage that didn’t get consumed the breakfast before.
• Bits of mismatched cheese that threaten to dry out. Just grind them up in the food processor, don’t worry, they will all go together.
• Yesterday’s spicy black beans, chipotle peppers and a bit of adobo sauce, some cooked corn, and a topping of salsa from that jar that is beckoning from the shelf on the refrigerator. Serve this one with corn or flour tortilla chips.
• Three sisters’ frittata: corn, yesterday’s green beans, chopped, and the rest of that big butternut squash you cubed and cooked but only used part of. This one is a big hit always, and I often served it at the inn in the Autumn.

Have a Heart Autumn Vegetable Frittata

The corn in New England was especially abundant and sweet this year, almost like candy, and we found it at the farm stand up until last week, a long season indeed. We had our fill many times over, and the freezer has summer’s delight gently tucked away for soups and chowders and other dishes all winter. It will certainly make appearances in egg dishes, especially frittatas. But if you haven’t frozen your own corn, corn from the market will work fine.

The pepper was an orphan in the crisper drawer, and the scallions also needed to be used up. I just stripped off the largest limp leaves, the rest was perfectly useable. This year, my parsley petered out early, but has revived itself with unseasonably really warm weather. I’ll put the cold frame over it now, and keep harvesting.

Save the egg yolks for another recipe or freeze. They will be lovely if making a lemon curd at the holidays.

Here, we’ve chosen to make a frittata cut into wedges. You could just as easily take all these ingredients and stuff them in individual omelets. Just about anything goes!

• 8 egg whites and two whole eggs, or 7 whole eggs
• Splash of milk or plant milk
• Six or eight shakes of Cholula hot sauce
• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, or leftover garlic oil dipping sauce
• 1 small purple onion, small dice
• 1 red Italian frying pepper, same sized dice
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Pinch of smoked paprika flakes
• 1 cup cooked fresh or frozen corn
• 1 precooked potato, diced
• 2 scallions, whites and greens, sliced
• Any herb or green (arugula here) that you like
• Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Beat the eggs until well blended with the milk, hot sauce, and a bit of salt and pepper. If using just the whites, you can freeze the yolks for another dish, perhaps a curd for a special dessert.

Heat the olive oil over medium high and add the onion, pepper, garlic, and paprikas. Cook until vegetables have softened and add the corn and potato. Let these get to know each other for a minute or so, then add the eggs. Once the eggs are about three-quarters cooked but still soft, place the pan in the oven and continue cooking until set and browned on top, about ten minutes or so.

Remove from the oven and let sit for five minutes, then loosen the edges and slide onto a cutting board.

Garnish with whatever you love, some parsley or cilantro (assuming you don’t think it tastes like soap), a sprinkle more of smoked paprika flakes, more corn kernels. Then top with roasted red pepper sauce, below, or sriracha mayonnaise. 

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

            

When in season, use fresh peppers you have roasted over a gas flame, the charcoal grill, or under the broiler. You can also use jarred roasted red peppers.

• 1 large or two small roasted red peppers
• 1/3 cup non-fat Greek yoghurt
• 1 scallion
• 1 tsp. sherry vinegar
• ½ tsp. smoked paprika
• Salt and pepper to taste

            Combine everything in a small food processor or blender and whirl until the desired consistency. This will keep in the refrigerator for several days. Use it on the frittata, or to top other vegetables or starches.

Freezing Eggs, whole or in part

Often, we find a recipe that calls for just egg whites or just yolks. Rather than waste, dispatch the unused portion to the freezer.

Whole eggs and whites freeze best, the yolks can lose a lot of texture when frozen, but a pinch of salt will help this, and they will be fine in baked goods. All parts can keep for up to a year, but are best used flavor wise in a few months. To use, thaw overnight in your refrigerator, and don’t forget to date and label.

Egg whites:

You’ve made a luscious jar of lemon curd and have a lot of egg whites left over. An egg white omelet is a great solution to the problem, but if you are not in the mood, you can easily freeze those whites. One handy method is to place them in individual wells of an ice cube tray, freeze until solid, them place them in a container in the freezer to take out as needed. You can also freeze more together, just label and date them so you know how much is in the container. 

Whole eggs:

            Whole eggs keep well in the freezer, but certainly not in their shells. Break them open, whisk them together, add a good pinch of salt, and freeze in muffin tins, about 3 tablespoons per egg. Once frozen, repack in a zip lock bag, I use a silicone one, or other freezer container. You can also just whisk together 4 eggs or more for a scramble or frittata, but make note of the amount of eggs and date

Egg yolks:

            What to do after making the angel food cake or meringue? Go ahead and freeze the yolks. Because they do not have the water content like white, they are a bit trickier to freeze and their texture will change. Make sure to put a good pinch of salt with the yolks and beat them together to combine before freezing, this can help that texture. They might not be great for an omelet, but will be fine in baked goods, and great to pop out just one and use it for an egg wash when making pastry. Make sure to put a good pinch of salt with the yolks and beat them together to combine before freezing, this can help that texture.

Cooked eggs:

            While I don’t think I’ve ever tried freezing fried eggs, you can definitely freeze scrambled eggs, and dishes with other ingredients, such as frittatas. Just take a look at the frozen breakfast section of the supermarket.

You can make ahead some breakfast sandwiches with scrambled eggs and a protein or cheese and have it ready in the morning to pop in the microwave or toaster oven. 

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