It’s Sunday morning. You may or may not have been out for a run. You are definitely hankering for some food after 9am’s Lidl pastry simply didn’t cut it and there is an abundance of miscellaneous veg in the fridge. Some slightly sad looking broccoli from last weekend’s “big shop”, those tomatoes you bought mid-week; forgetting you already had a pack.. Oh shit! That’s where the peppers are… you know the drill.

Leave it any longer, and that stuff will get chucked out. With some extra ingredients you could rustle up a decent meal. Shepherd’s pie?
Inertia rolls over and complains:

“Allow going out to the supermarket”

On this (rare) occasion, Inertia has a point. [Inertia is somewhat unsophisticated].
Thus, “Brunch” is born. I’ve been making this for years; reducing my food waste* and making myself rather popular with my house-mates. Tried and tested. Especially if they had a heavy night out. You also get donations of items you may have been eyeing up on their shelves. That’s right, pack of peri-peri chicken - I’m looking at you.

"Brunch" is served

You will need

  • Half an onion, finely chopped. A whole one is fine if you’re making a large pan for a few of you.
  • Clove or two of garlic, chopped (optional)
  • Some (or all) of those sad tomatoes, chopped
  • Assorted veg, roughly but somewhat uniformly, finely chopped. That does make sense.
    Any of the following will do, not an exhaustive list
    • Peppers
    • Courgettes
    • Potato (slice thin if raw)
    • Broccoli
    • Aubergine
    • Suedes, squashes, etc.
    • Fine beans
    • Peas
    • Carrots
    • Shitake (or any) mushrooms work brilliantly especially if you’re making this vegetarian.
  • Meats (optional), pre-cooked and shredded/chopped.
  • Any cheese, grated or sliced.
  • Eggs (1-2 per person). Free range, unless you’re a student.
  • Piquante peppers, stuffed with goats cheese (totally optional)
  • Salt/Pepper
  • Random herbs (dried or fresh) for seasoning.
  • A glug or two of oil (I like to use the olive variety)
  • A knob of butter. (optional, though recommended)
  • A grill-safe frying pan big enough to host all of the above.

Method

I tend to chop up the next batch of ingredients while the pan is going. But if you’re a serial preparer, ready up the above.

  • Soften onions in pan on a medium heat with a good glug of oil
  • If using garlic, add when onions are translucent
  • Once the onions are lightly browned, add tomatoes
  • When tomatoes soften, add veg. Stir often. The idea is to slow cook the contents, so turn down the heat if the veg is browning quickly
  • If using meat, add when veg is medium soft. Keep stirring
  • Keep this up until veg is nice and soft, but still has a bit of a bite. Subjective.
  • If using, stir in that knob of butter and add salt, pepper and herbs.
  • Flatten and smooth down the mix to an even layer in frying pan, bringing in the edges
  • Layer the cheese on top of your now even mix. I had some mozzarella knocking around so used that for the first time. Bring the heat down a little and, if necessary, cover your pan to melt the cheese Slow fried veg with layer of mozzarella
  • Now this is the interesting part. With the back of your wooden spoon (or if you’ve not been using one - a table spoon will do), make wells in the cheesy vegetable mix. You’ll need as many of these as you have eggs. Try keep them evenly spaced for instagram…
  • While still on a low heat, crack your eggs into the wells. The idea is for the yolk to sit and the white to roam free. Don’t panic if you have terrible aim or your yolk drifts away from its well. With your wooden spoon (or non pointed utensil) make the well a tad deeper and gently nudge the yolk into place. Break up the egg whites so that all of them merge together and cover the whole pan. The whites should go over the edges of your mix - this is why we tucked the edges in a little earlier.
  • If using them because you’re fancy, or like me found them reduced at M&S, push the piquante peppers in between the yolks. Eggs in wells
  • Whack under a medium-hot grill for around 5 minutes or until egg-white is cooked, but yolk still just wobbles when you move the pan. Don’t forget the oven gloves when testing that.

I got carried away with the dishes and left mine in to the point where the yolks cooked through. If that’s your thing, 7 minutes. Nevertheless, “Brunch” is served. It’s not really a frittata and I never knew what to call it, so we’ve affectionately named it after the best meal of the day.

Serve with avocado if you’ve got little better to do with your disposable income and what’s left of your morning coffee. Bon Appetit. "Brunch" on the pass

## *I was raised that food waste is basically a cardinal sin. And it’s been a constant consideration way before hipster eco-warriors made it a thing.