Barbeque for Breakfast

Last Friday was Uncle I's birthday, so we decided - based on the noonday almost-spring sunshine - that we might have a BBQ. Ah, folly. By 5pm it was cold and blowing, threatening rain, and what made it worse was that lo and behold, there was no gas for the BBQ anyway. So we used the electric BBQ instead, and it was great.

The biggest problem I usually have with BBQs (besides the occasional hangover) is dealing with the leftovers. In the past I've been guilty of cooking too much, which leaves us with more meat sitting in the fridge than we're able to eat in a week, so it ends up getting thrown out. I'll be making a serious effort, in line with my wider concerns regarding food wastage, to reduce that excess this summer. I think we managed that with Friday's meal, the highlight of which was the garlic steak and the Squashed Potatoes - I'll post that next.

Meanwhile, Saturday morning dawned and there was a tray of leftover steak and sausages in the fridge which I decided would not be wasted. Bring on the...

Breakfast BBQ Fritatta

So simple.
Slice up leftover BBQ meat: we had steak and chorizo. Toss a handful in a bowl with an egg, some chopped mushroom and capsicum, a grating of parmesan and some freshly ground salt and pepper. Heat some olive oil in a non-stick pan and add the egg mixture. When its browned on the underside, slide the fritatta out onto a plate, flip the pan on top of the uncooked side of the fritatta and invert the whole caboodle (with a tea towel or two). Pop the pan back on the heat and cook through.
Serve with sweet chilli sauce or whatever brightens up your post-BBQ Saturday morning. Hot coffee also highly recommended.

Ham and Vegetable Fritattas

Can you spell Vege Overload? This dish could just as easily be a vegetarian option simply by omitting the Ham. This is a great way to sneak a bunch of veges onto the kids' plates, and also a fantastic way of enjoying really fresh produce. Strange, you might say, it wouldn't seem that putting veges in a fry pan covered in egg would do anything for them, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Ham and Vegetable Fritattas (serves 4)

Cube and boil a kumara and two potatoes in lightly salted water.

Slice a handful of mushrooms, one red onion, 5 cloves of garlic, 1/4 of a capsicum, and 3 or 4 leaves of silverbeet. Cut a few florets of brocolli and cauli. Cut 3 slices of ham into small pieces (if you're not set on the vege rush).
When the potato and kumera are just cooked, drain through a colander, reserving the cooking water. Allow to cool slightly (so that the heat of the veges doesn't start cooking the egg prematurely). Return the water to the pot and put the pot back on the heat, bringing the water to the boil. Put the brocolli and cauli in a colander and place in the boiling water, blanching for about 4 minutes. This will heat the florets but leave them crunchy and full of flavour.

In a small non-stick frying pan, heat 1T of olive oil.

For each fritatta:
In a small bowl, add a portion of everything you now have ready, including a scattering of ham if you're using it, and 1-2 eggs (I always think I need to do 2, and it always ends up being too much for the pan, greedy boy!). Mix well. When the oil is hot (but not smoking) scrape in the fritatta mixture. Allow the egg to set on the bottom, then keep the fritatta moving by jiggling the pan frequently. When the upper side of the fritatta is semi-solid, flip the fritatta. If you're not confident that you can do this without destroying the meal (as I so often do), slide the fritatta out onto a plate, then place the frying pan upside-down over the uncooked side, hold it all carefully with a tea towel or two, and flip it over. Brown on the underside and dish with a bit of pepper and your favourite sauce or relish.
Repeat until you have cooked enough for everyone, or else some people might get a bit titchy at being forgotten.