Leftover potato, greens and cheddar frittata

I’m allergic to waste. I HATE it! I get so annoyed at myself if I discover a bag of soggy leaves in the fridge, or I missed a use by date on a pot of yoghurt. I mean, to be honest, I do quite frequently eat slightly out of date food – and, look, I’m fine! (Questionable)

As a waste hater, I am consequently quite adept at using stuff up. I’m not a cheffy cook; I don’t have proper knife skills, and I’m not precise. I’m slapdash, and I don’t measure or time anything, ever! But I am really good at opening a fridge with some leftovers in, and knocking up a decent meal.

So when I was approached by Aldi to create a leftovers meal to celebrate Stop Food Waste Day (29th April), I was really happy to help. Cooking with leftovers is my THING! It’s what I think mums are best at. Dads tend to be cheffy and picky about things like technique, and getting pans to the correct temperature. Mums are all ‘we need to eat in half an hour, let’s do this’!

I wanted to do this post with integrity; and use whatever I had in my fridge. So I opened it up – and it genuinely was rather a sorry sight – Adam is really, honestly planning a trip to Aldi later (one perk of him working from home is sending him out to he shops, which is like a mini holiday for him let’s face it). We had a bowl of leftover, cooked potatoes, along with a few other things. Like I said in my previous post (which is also about potatoes, so sorry about that. Like buses this blog is; nothing for ages then two posts featuring potatoes come almost at once!)

What could I make with them? Hmmm. We had a wilting head of spring greens. They were still usable but they’d seen better days. Half a red onion. Some cheese.. we had herbs from the garden and dried chilli flakes. Wait, there are some eggs. AHA!

I love a frittata. Everyone eats it – win. It’s healthy – double win. It’s quick – erm, triple win. Baby potato, greens and cheddar frittata for tea!

In times like these it’s more important than ever to embrace leftovers. Not only is it better for the environment, it’s more economical, it’s more creative, and also it sets a good example for kids – it’s morally wrong in my opinion to chuck good food out. In a world where people starve, I think we owe it to our kids to explain just how lucky we are to have food to eat.

You could swap ingredients up to your heart’s desired. Cooked broccoli would be great in place of greens. Or leeks. Or peas! What about blue cheese? Or some bacon? The possibilities are endless. You could even use tinned potatoes in this! It’s also great for a lunch box or picnic – ah, remember those!?

Enjoy! Let me know – what is your fave leftovers recipe? Do you have a leftover night?

SERVES: 4-6

TAKES: 25 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1/2 red onion (use a full one if you like, or a spring onion, chopped)
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
• Pinch chilli flakes
• 1 head of spring greens, sliced up
• Fresh or dried herbs (I used chives and mint)
• Knob of butter
• About 10 baby pots, sliced up
• 5 eggs, beaten
• Large handful (about 180g) of grated cheddar
• S&P

Method:

1. Preheat your grill.
2. In a large heavy bottom frying pan, heat a little oil. Fry off your onion, garlic and chilli flakes for a few mins. Then add your greens. Let them cook for a couple more mins. Then pop the lot in a little bowl.
3. Add some butter to the pan and then fry your pots off. You don’t need to colour them but just let them cook for about 5 mins or so. Add the greens back into the pan and season then stir well.
4. Beat your eggs, add half the cheese, season and mix. Add them to the pan and make sure it’s all covered. Cook for a few mins on the hob, then add rest of cheese and pop under grill to finish for about 5-10 mins or until cooked through.
5. Serve with a peppy little salad!