I’m not the biggest fan of leftovers.
That’s no surprise, seeing that I change my mind about what to eat on any given day, even after going to the store to get the ingredients.
I guess I can’t make that statement wholesale since I have been known to eat cold pizza without even bothering to close the refrigerator door, or scoop a few spoons of black beans from their container for a quick snack, or polish off the little corner of hamburger I saved myself from eating the night before (Tom always tucks it into a wrap of plastic for me, just in case).
Yet still, I can’t get behind true leftovers. The kind that you reheat and eat for lunch the next day, or worse, for dinner that week, dumped hastily onto a plate and barely resembling the lovely meal it used to be in its’ prime and throwing it into the microwave.
Maybe it’s because I know how good it looked when it came right out of the oven and now, sitting there in the fridge, it just looks cold and pale? Maybe even a little sad. Or maybe it’s because the tantalizing smell that came from the nights before are now silenced sitting in the cool air, picking up the neighboring smells?
Well, I guess that can’t be entirely true since I have already admitted to the pizza thing…
Perhaps I just like to eat something new?
I mean, I do like it if it is leftoverish…
Lefoverish:
/ˈleftˌōvər ish/
noun
- Leftovers made into something new; Remaining surplus redefined
The steak and broccoli from dinner were made into a leftoverish frittata.
adjective
- Made from partially used ingredients
This delicious steak and broccoli fritatta is leftoverish.
Even though this frittata is leftoverish, its’ leftovers can be disguised as new. Just heat and serve neatly on a plate with freshly-dressed greens. Frittata is a leftover even I can get behind. In fact, going against my usual judgement, we might need to have it as a true leftover today. Well, leftoverish, I’ll need to make another fresh salad!
Steak & Roasted Broccoli Frittata
You begin by whisking eggs, yogurt, blue cheese and pepper in a medium bowl (break in some chunks of cheddar cheese slices or grate some into the mix as well).
Then, you chop the broccoli, potato and steak up a bit into smallish chunks.
Your prep area will look something like this.
Next, warm the olive oil over medium heat in a non-stick pan and add the potatoes, then broccoli and steak. Stir and let it warm up a bit.
Notice my super-cool, non-stick Green Pan from Food 52.
Next comes the egg mixture poured over top. We are looking to let it set up a little before transferring to the oven. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides a bit, keeping the egg mixture intact.
When the frittata has cooked halfway (around 5 minutes in), crumble the rest of the cheese over top and finish cooking.
When the frittata is fully set and cooked through, which should take about 10 minutes in a 350-degree oven, let it rest for 5 minutes, covered. You could also transfer it to a warming drawer until you have gathered up the guests and set a proper table.
Cut it into wedges, and if you feel fancy, serve it alongside a pile of Spring greens dressed lightly with lemon juice and olive oil. Pea vines are a nice addition if you are doing this in the Springtime.
Voila! Leftoverish steak and broccoli frittata.
Frit-ta-ta…ta…ta..ta
I’m dreaming of frittata..ta…ta…ta in my Spring sunbeam…
Wake up Zoe, it’s time to eat!
Don’t worry Ginger, we will save you a bite.
Steak & Roasted Broccoli Fritatta
To make this proper leftoverish fare, you will want to prepare a dinner using the recipe for Ina Garten’s genius, roasted broccoli which you can find here. It is a great accompaniment to steak and roasted potatoes. In fact, we had that for dinner on Friday night (which you too should consider if you want this frittata to be as leftoverish as mine). I didn’t use 4 lbs of broccoli, instead I used 2 small bundles of fresh, local, purple, sprouted broccoli. That is not important here; you can use whatever you want as long as you have about 3 oz of leftover broccoli. You can probably even get away with not using the pine nuts or even the parmesan for the broccoli, but those sure do make them delicious!
- Prep Time: 10 miniutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: -25926533.75 minute
- Yield: 4 servings
- Category: Brunch
Ingredients
6 eggs
2 TB full-fat yogurt
1 oz bleu cheese (separated into 1/4 oz and 3/4 oz mounds)
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
4 baby potatoes, roasted (3 oz)
3 oz roasted broccoli (with garlic, lemon, pinenuts and parmesan)
2 3/4 oz grilled steak (leftover or freshly cooked. I used tenderloin but you can use any steak you like).
1 oz cheddar cheese
2 tsp (ish) olive oil
Instructions
- Whisk the eggs, yogurt, 1/4 oz blue cheese and pepper in a medium bowl.
- Chop the broccoli, potato and steak up a bit into smallish chunks.
- Break the cheddar cheese slice into pieces over the egg mixture (or shred it into the bowl if using a chunk of cheese), stir.
- Warm the olive oil over medium heat in a non-stick pan.
- Add the potatoes first and let cook a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the broccoli and steak and cook for an additional few minutes, stirring.
- Add the egg mixture and let cook a minute or two to set. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides a bit, keeping the egg mixture intact.
- Transfer pan to 350-degree oven and let cook for 5 minutes.
- Crumble the remaining blue cheese and cheddar cheese over top and let cook an additional 10 minutes.
- Scrape the outside edge with a rubber spatula to loosen from pan and let sit (covered or in a warming drawer) for 5 minutes. This is a good time to prepare more drinks, setting up plates and start corralling people to the table.
- Cut into pie wedges.
Notes
You could also freeze the cooked frittata to eat a few weeks later (gasp….yes, you really can).
The cheddar cheese I used was an organic, pre-sliced. I just tore it up and tossed it in the mix. I liked to leave some out to add 5 minutes in to cooking along with the blue cheese but it isn’t a necessary step.