I probably shouldn’t have told my guests that the dish I was about to serve them is called “Clean Out the Fridge Frittata.” It’s not the most appealing name. I had planned to keep it to myself. Really, they didn’t need to know.
I blame it on the fact that it was a picnic, and thus informal. When you are eating dinner with your shoes off and your bare feet in the grass, any number of things might happen. You might be lulled into telling your guests the lowly name and humble beginnings of your dinner dish: Clean Out the Fridge Frittata.
But really, it is the most useful of recipes, especially in the summer when you may have a garden that’s pumping out greens at an overwhelming clip. Or you might fall under the spell of summer produce at the farmers’ market and overbuy, as I often do. Or you may have to use up your perishables because you’re going on vacation and don’t want to come home to a soggy mess.
The solution to all of these problems: Clean Out the Fridge Frittata.
It’s a simple thing, more of a ratio than a recipe (and while we’re on the topic, have you read Michael Ruhlman’s new book, Ratio? You should). You simply sauté some onions—red, yellow, or green, or any combination of the three. Whatever you have in the house.
Then you add some vegetables. Greens are a shoo-in: spinach or chard (I’d steer away from kale or cabbage). I like zucchini, although I prefer mine made into matchstick slivers with a mandoline. That way they melt into the frittata and don’t call attention to themselves (and don’t get soggy).
You can even use those vegetables that are almost beyond the point of no return. Bring me your sad summer squash, your limp greens, your onions about to shoot sprouts: they will all be welcomed and made to feel at home in the Clean Out the Fridge Frittata.
You can even thrown in the odds and ends of bunches of herbs, either from the market or from your garden. Parsley, chives, oregano, tarragon. green garlic (use rosemary only sparingly and without other herbs).
Saute all the vegetables until they are wilted, mix with eggs, grated cheese. Pour the whole thing in a quiche pan and bake until set. Easy peasy.
The best part of this recipe—in addition to clearing out your fridge and using up a goodly amount of vegetables—is that it’s great summer food. You can eat it cold for lunch the next day, you can wrap it up and take it on a road trip or to the cabin. And if you have to fly, it’s a far sight better than what most airlines are serving these days.
You might find that you too come to love Clean Out the Fridge Frittata.
This particular frittata got wrapped up and taken to Seward Park for a dinner picnic, which is almost as good an idea as Clean Out the Fridge Frittata. Imagine a dinner party where you invite all the interesting people you don’t see nearly enough, but with the added benefit of not having to clean your house. It’s genius, I tell you. Throw in some blankets, some grapes, salad, bread, cheese, a bottle of wine, and cookies or cupcakes (or in our case, both!) and you have the makings of a very fine evening indeed.
As an extra bonus, when at last it gets dark and you have to pull yourself away from the park and your friends, you’ll have a much cleaner fridge to come home to. I’m my world, that’s never a bad thing.
CLEAN OUT THE FRIDGE FRITTATA
Serves six
This recipe is more of a structure, flavor-wise you can take it in any number of directions. Try mushrooms, Monterey Jack cheese, and fresh thyme; go Greek with spinach, tomatoes, kalmata olives, and feta cheese (don’t saute the tomatoes, add them afterwards); or stick to the classic with broccoli and cheddar. The permutations are endless and delicious.
Here’s the ratio for a basic greens version, but by all means get creative—potatoes, peppers, whatever sort of vegetables you need to use up.
2 cups sautéed vegetables (mix of onions, greens, fresh herbs, etc; about 6 cups prior to cooking)
1 tbs olive oil, for sautéing, plus more for greasing the quiche pan
6 eggs, beaten (you can get by with five eggs, if you’re short one or want to cut back)
1 cup cheese, grated, plus more for topping
1 1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste (I go for six revolutions on the pepper grinder)
Preheat the oven to 350°
Sauté the vegetables in the olive oil, starting with the onions, adding the greens (cut into rough ribbons) once the onions are limp. Add the salt and any fresh herbs you may be using. Sauté until wilted and soft.
If the vegetables give off a significant amount of water, place the cooked mixture into a mesh strainer and press to remove the liquid.
In a large mixing bowl crack and beat the eggs. Add the vegetables, grated cheese, and pepper.
Pour into a well-oiled 12-inch quiche pan or cast iron skillet. Bake at 350° until the center has set and no longer jiggles if you shake the pan. There may be some minor browning around the sides, this is fine.
Serve either hot or cold. Some salsa on the side (depending on what herbs you’ve used) does not go amiss either.
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I love this post! And your post title. And frittata. I'm going to see exactly what I have left in my fridge as soon as I leave the computer!
great looking frittata and good use of those old veggies.
This is exactly the sort of thing I love to do. I have many variations on this theme as well. It is quite amazing what you can turn your bits and bobs into actually.
Your picnic feast looks so inviting. As always, your photos really paint a lovely picture.
I am so with you on that – do it all the time for my boyfriend and me. Never any complaints!
Cheers,
*Heather*
love it!
That's what we call it, too! So funny. Yup, whatever there is goes in and that's that. Lovely. Thank you for this.
What a great idea. I want to try that. It also seems "Atkins Friendly". What are those cookies in the picture. They look YUMMY.
I'd make this, but that would mean I would have to clean out my fridge. *cringe*
Seriously, though, looks great.
Genius, indeed! Thanks for the tip – I'll be doing this soon before summer is over!
Some of my best meals have come form cleaning out the fridge. You never know what you might come up with. Your frittata is full of color and all those tasty veggies. Great recipe!
I've been doing a lot of this lately. Every single time that my boyfriend asks me what I'm serving is called, I say it's "Clean the fridge pasta" or "empty the freezer pie." Have you ever seen the movie The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio? It's about a housewife in the 50s who earns money for her family by winning jingle contests. One is about a sandwich with this same idea and i've taken to singing the song when I cook. It goes "It's my frisk the Fridigaire, clean the cupboards bare Saaaaandwich. Ooooh aaaah!"
Clean out the fridge or not, it looks amazing! The chips are fantasatic! A little note for you over here: http://bakergirlcreations.wordpress.com/2009/08/17/a-pleasant-suprise/
Looks delicious. I love cooking with frigde clean out items. Great idea to make a frittata. The table setting looks simple and inviting.
I admit I usually have plenty of sad summer or limp veggies around so this is perfect
I love this idea for using up the vegetables in my fridge, I am definitely making this on Saturday!
This looks delicious! I bought that book recently and am really looking forward to reading it – I think it'll come in handy!
I love coming home to a clean fridge. After a vacation, it's way better than coming home to a fridge full of things that have gone bad.
We usually have Everything But The Kitchen Sink pizza … cleaning out random lunchmeats and sausage – and veggies, of course. It's always good and who doesn't like pizza?
K
I am in awe after I visited ur blog today..I have nominated u for some awards, please collect them from my blog..
I just stumbled upon your blog and your "clean out the fridge frittata" hooked me. I make "cotf" soup frequently but this post has definitely expanded my horizons. Thank you.
sb
I followed you here from a comment you made at The Sister Project – and I'm now a fan! Food without a story just isn't food – and you write a very inviting story.
The pictures to follow! ohh!! and the variable recipe – wonderful. Also – your post title "clean out the fridge frittata" and blog title make me smile..thanks for this – I'm only recently getting back to cooking – and reading this type blog makes me remember what I loved about the whole thing.
Summer = Clean Out the Fridge Frittata
Winter = Clean Our the Fridge Soup
And we're all winners. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and the recipe. Wish I had been at THAT picnic!
Well, that is certainly a great way to clean out the fridge…and let me tell you…that is incredible!
Everyone needs such a recipe in their repertoire – and really, there isn't a better feeling sometimes than being able to create something delicious from all manner of odds and ends. Whatever you want to call it, it looks delicious.
You could always borrow the name I have for such a Frittata ; except, I am not sure that you would be better off……:o).
I call it:" Everything but the kitchen sink "….lol.
Yum! I love any recipe that uses up left over veggies AND tastes delicious. fab!
Just came across your blog! Yummy recipes, wonderful pictures! I will be back!
I didn't know what to make for lunch today but I read this post soon after you posted it and that frittata stuck in my mind. We had fresh chard in the garden and dill, even a zucchini … so I branched out and made my first frittata … and boy was it good. Yum. Thanks for the inspiration.
I cleaned out my fridge, and I now can vouch that this recipe works even for the culinarily challenged. Adding salmon totally worked, too. However, next time I'll skip the dried/reconstituted mushrooms. The flavor's good, but they're just too chewy!
Ah, a girl after my own heart. I myself do a Last Chance Frittata, as well as a Last Chance Soup, and a Last Chance Scramble. This is actually my favorite way to cook – bent into the deepest regions of the fridge, foraging from my own pantry, and creating Something from the Almost Nothing. Lovely.
oh yeah. Frittata is one of my favorite things to cook. It seems like you can put almost anything into a frittata and just turns into magic.
Fantastic stuff. Love the photos too.
Who knew that cleaning out the fridge could be so incredibly beautiful and nutritious? Going on vacation next week. Am now thoroughly inspired to create something glorious with the last of the veggies.
what a wonderful spread of vegetables tea… and what i like the most is that you were out sharing it with others. beautiful as always!
I'm sure your friends forgave you once they took a bite of such a scruptious looking concoction.
We just had it for dinner tonight, using 8 eggs, and it was a big hit.
It's also gonna be lunch tomorrow. MY lunch!
This is exactly my kind of cooking during the summer. So much produce to rotate, so many friends to see, feed and gather around the table with! We always do that on sundays: a frittata, a loaf of bread, some wine and good friends! Perfect!
If only I had energy to make that, after I cleaned out the fridge!! Very fun….I do however, do a mean Clean Out The Fridge Salad!! Great stuff! -Chris Ann
I would just like to say that I more or less survive on clean-out-the-fridge frittatas! I'm glad to see your beautiful pictures of such a humble dish…
Frittata is a standby of mine espcially getting an organic box. I like adding potatoe on the top nice and crunchy. I don't fry the veg though – I'm kind of lazy but perhaps I should make more of an effort !
A great substitute for pizza Friday. I love your pictures, totally appetizing, and I am sure yummy.
Mmmm! Picnic time! That frittata and those cookies look amazing.
It looks positively delicious. I think I should make a frittata tonight.
Wow that looks extremely delicious!
I think every home cook should have a recipe like this in her back pocket. I've made my own variation of this on more than a few occasions – especially when I'm short on time but still want a great meal.
omg that all looks so tasty and amazing!
Excellent. I've never thought of frittata being used to clean the fridge, I've always been an advocate of risotto and other carbs for the purpose. Brilliant idea though, and the eating of it hot or cold is also such a great asset. I have to agree with one of the other comments that meals made from stuff lying around when you haven't actually shopped are by far the best!
love your blog! I am a HUGE proponent of 'cleaning out' type dishes. Not to mention that eggs are a favorite. Look forward to following along ~
Came across this post at the perfect time. I too have been overindulgent at farmers markets this summer. My one thing with frittatas and quiches is that I don't like a soft custard but something more firm. Yours looks pretty firm and delicious. Thanks for the idea!
This is like my favorite dish ever, only it's also a "breakfast for dinner night" frittata, a "let's be fancy and call it a quiche" frittata and "too many interesting things to do to spend time cooking" frittata. I've never taken it to a picnic, wonderful idea.
T,
I make a clean out the fridge peanut stew. Same idea but delicious. Good timing as I was looking for a frittata recipe, having eaten one over the weekend.
I totally do this, and have been known to foolishly reveal my cleaning-out-the-fridge ulterior motives to guests, too…but I say, if it tastes good, who are they to complain? BTW, I agree with you about shredding zucchini (and all other summer squashes) on the mandoline for optimum texture, but the thing that makes them EVEN BETTER is to salt and drain them (like eggplant) prior to cooking. I swear, it will change your life. Try it.
I "clean out my fridge" weekly and some of the things that come out of it are not something you'd imagine eating without being forced, yet they are so delicious. Thanks for sharing your clean out… it looks quite tasty.
I love frittata. And I love dishes that use up whatever it's in the fridge. I make a quiche that my boyfriend lovingly renamed "everything but the kitchen sink"!
I love frittatas. I don't think it would matter what you call it because it looks so good!
Interesting post you got here. It would be great to read something more about this topic. Thnx for sharing this info.
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This looks great! I was recommended your recipe after my issues with the quiche one I was using (2% milk makes it too watery) as a milk free alternative and I can't wait to try it. Cleaning out the fridge is basically how I cook.
I love frittata… and the best part of it is to eat it with friends in the open air!!
I love this type of dishes, clean out and delicious cooking in one
I adore frittatas and this one looks soooo good. I will definitely try it out next time I make brunch for my family. Thanks!
And here's my contribution to this week's Summer Fest 2010 – Green Bean-Filled Double Corn Muffins with Herbed Yogurt Frosting:
http://achanceofsprinkles.blogspot.com/2010/08/media-musings-and-summer-fest-2010.html
That's a fairly genteel name … my father's family called these dishes "Scrape". Now that really does dampen the apetite.
This is perfect for me–I live in southern California and have random vegetables growing pretty much year-round, so I'd call it my "whatever's growing" frittata!
As for the cast iron skillet: I got inspired to switch to one after I read the article "Using a Cast Iron Skillet Ain't So Hard!" at http://www.richsoil.com/cast-iron.jsp. It shows how to keep eggs from sticking! I'm wondering if you'd be interested in linking to this article when you mention cast iron, so people don't get frustrated and give up on them?