I think it’s what you do with your leftovers that shows you how much you’ve grown as a cook. This Vegetable Egg White Frittata with Harissa is an example.
When I look back at things I used to waste I want to do a facepalm. Back when I was young and stupid and made something from a recipe that called for only egg yolks or whites I would toss the other half in the trash. WHY? I want to shout to my past self. You could have gotten 3 or 4 more meals out of that. STUPID!
I’m still stupid a lot of the time and I still waste food. But I’m getting better. And I never throw eggs away. When I made the Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream, I had the egg whites in the fridge long enough to make another batch of ice cream. What was going to be a small 6 egg white frittata turned into a large 12 egg white frittata. But that’s okay because it was really good.
Vegetable Egg White Frittata with Harissa
This was my first time using all egg whites and choosing to do a frittata over a quiche. And I’m converted. The frittata is lighter without the crust and the egg whites make it a very fluffy and airy meal. Plus this means you can eat your frittata with crusty bread (I read this in a cook book and thought it was weird but it’s awesome-like a fancier version of eggs on toast).
Using egg whites creates a very airy frittata
I filled this Vegetable Egg White Frittata with (you guessed it), leftover veggies. I had asparagus that was still hard but going slimy at the ends, cherry tomatoes that I had to pick through to get the mold-free ones, and wilting baby arugula. All of this sounds horrible but trust me—it was delicious baked in the frittata.
While the veggies might have been leftovers, I decided to try some new things as well.
My local grocery store (The Nugget Market) has a pretty good cheese selection. I’m always so tempted to buy everything but I try to practice some restraint because cheese can be pretty pricey. But I decided to splurge since I had all the basics already. I bought seven year aged white cheddar cheese that I’m in love with (no I’m serious-it’s the love of my life) and a Bergamino di Bufala, which I had never tried before.
I have to be honest. When I got it home and tasted it I was worried. It was kind of…musty. I didn’t like it very much. It’s made from water buffalo’s milk and is starting to be exported more from Italy but still isn’t that common here. But cooked on top of the frittata, it tasted really good so I was saved from disaster. Just use fresh mozzarella, burrata, or your cheese of choice.
I jumped on the harissa bandwagon by dabbing it all over the top of the frittata and spreading it on the bread. I loved it so much I almost went through the whole jar in one week. Why couldn’t I have jumped sooner??? What are your favorite food saving techniques?
Other Things
Just a quick little update. It’s getting closer and closer to my surgery day (Friday!!!). I’ve been trying to both simultaneously get a lot of work done and pamper myself. Sunday I got all dressed up, experimented taking selfies with my new iPhone (so much fun), and went to Journey Coffee to work where I got to drink a lavender latte.
Monday was my appointment for a nurse to mark the place where my stoma will be if they can’t do the whole surgery in one go. After, I treated myself to a Potato Gnocchi dish (golden yukon potatoes, parmesan cream, English peas, spring onion, and wild arugula) from Corner’s Tavern in Walnut Creek, where I’m having the surgery. I loved how light it was. Usually gnocchi is covered in lots of rich sauce but not this one.
My next post will come from either the hospital or the comfort of my bed, depending on how well I do. I’ll be posting updates on Facebook and maybe Snapchat (my username is megiswell) if I can get the hang of it.
Vegetable Egg White Frittata with Harissa
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1.5 cups coarsely chopped asparagus
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 clove garlic minced or crushed
- 2 cups baby arugula
- 12 egg whites
- 1/2 shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup sliced Bergamino di Bufala mozzarella, burrata, or any cheese you prefer
- harissa to taste
- Favorite crusty bread
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Mix together the olive oil, salt and pepper, tomatoes, and asparagus and mix until all the veggies are coated. Spread out on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast in the oven until the tomatoes are shriveled, about 10 minutes. Broil the veggies for 5 minutes, getting some of the tomatoes a little blistered.
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Melt the butter in a nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add the garlic and arugula and cook for 2 minutes until it's wilted. Transfer to a bowl.
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Whisk the eggs. Reheat the skillet on medium-low heat. Pour the eggs into the skillet and spoon the roasted tomatoes, asparagus, and arugula on top. Sprinkle with the extra-sharp cheddar cheese and dot with the sliced cheese and harissa (to your own personal taste and heat tolerance).
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Cook until the edges have set (about 5 to 6 minutes). Transfer to the oven and bake 20 minutes or until cooked through.
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Broil for 5 minutes, crisping and making the top crusty. Take out and let cool for a little and then use a spatula to transfer to a serving plate.
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Eat by itself or serve on top of crusty bread spread with some harissa.
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Hope everything with the surgery went well Meg!
And I totally agree with you – my use of leftovers has gotten so much more creative, especially this year with living out of home & college so being a bit more budget restricted. Leftovers are gold!! I often make individual pavlovas with egg whites, but egg white frittata is another great idea (and way less indulgent, haha). I love the sound of crusty bread with it too. x
This frittata is the perfect way to use up those leftover egg whites! The harissa would give it an amazing spicy kick.
I went through an obsessive ice-cream making phase about a year ago, and I didn’t really know what to do with all my leftover egg whites. So I just kept freezing them, and I had 18 frozen egg whites at one stage. I eventually threw them out because we moved house. Such a waste!
Thank you Hannah! I do that with a lot of my food! Especially when I get on a recipe creation kick and I can’t eat everything. It all ends up going to the freezer and some of it ends up sitting there for ages.
This frittata looks wonderful! Love the use of harissa! Hate wasting food, but it happens to me all the time! Good luck with the surgery! Hope you feel better soon!
Thank you Mira!
I LOVE making frittata (as a matter of fact that’s what I have for lunch today)! It’s such an easy and tasty way to use leftovers or whatever odds and ends are in the fridge. I love when I go to the grocery store and they have a great cheese selection an, like yourself, it’s so difficult not to buy every single one. So good! Your frittata looks amazing and I love harissa! Good luck with your surgery, girl!! All the very best!
Thank you Dawn! And yes, the challenge is real for me to resist buying up the whole cheese selection.
Oh Megan, this frittata is absolutely stunning! I seriously want to dive into the screen and devour the entire dish! I hear you on wasting food – I hate it! Especially when you open the fridge and realize that something you never used, got pushed to the back of the fridge, and has rotted. I also used to toss egg whites or yolks if a recipe only called for one or the other – so wasteful. I’ve since learned how to use them in other dishes and I’m so happy to have this awesome recipe on hand to make use of extra egg whites! Move over boring egg white omelet – this frittata looks SO good! Btw, I’m actually posting a no-churn Vietnamese coffee ice cream tomorrow… great minds 😉
Thanks Kathleen! And I can’t wait to check out your Vietnamese coffee ice cream recipe tomorrow-great minds do think alike!
I do grocery every Monday, and by the weekend, my hubby will either eat leftover fried rice, leftover pan-fried noodle or leftover pasta salad, but for some reason, I have never thought of making Frittata out of it, which btw, it’s such a great idea. 🙂 Thank you, Megan.
Ok now, please don’t feel the need to post during your recovery. Read those books, enjoy the lavender latte (I need to get me some of that), and do WHATEVER you want to make yourself feel better. I (I mean, all of us) will be back when you are. xoxo
Your welcome Pang! And you should absolutely get a lavender latte-the flavor and sweetness is more subtle than vanilla lattes. Luckily I planned ahead and for my posts I just have to write, which I always feel the urge to do when I’m in the hospital and recovering. But thank you for the support! It’s a nightmare of mine that I put all this hard work into the blog and then it all goes down the drain if I don’t pay attention to it.
Megan, I know exactly what you mean by feeling stupid about wasting! Oy, believe you me, we all do it. But quit being hard on yourself! You’ve clearly done an awesome job of not letting things go to waste (and I’m just dreaming about your Vietnamese Ice Cream right now). As usual, you’ve set the most stunning table. I always look forward to seeing your food photography. This frittata looks incredible.
Okay, I’m gonna be checking in for updates! Keep me posted too! I’m glad you got some pampering time in. Your selfies are so cute!! Love that red lipstick. Sending good thoughts and super calm vibes to you, M. xo
Thanks so much Demeter, your comments always give my confidence a boost! And that red lipstick was seriously so much fun (and it actually stayed on the whole day too-a lipstick miracle). The good thoughts and calm vibes are much appreciated and felt ❤️
Also I hope your surgery goes well!!!
Thank you!
This is such a good idea.. I always end up with tons of egg whites in our fridge (usually left over from crème brulee, but soon to be left over when I try that ice cream omg). Half the time I forget to use them, because I haven’t figured out what to do with them lol. You may have rescued the sad abandoned egg whites- this looks fantastic.
Thanks and yum, creme brulee! I’ve yet to tackle those wonders. It’s still a close call a lot of the time on whether the egg whites can be saved or not. They always get pushed to the back of the fridge (aka the graveyard) where I might not save them in time.