If cooking three meals a day has begun to wear on you, my mother has a suggestion: Take whatever you whipped up for dinner, and stick it between two pieces of bread for lunch the next day.
Of course, this is obvious with things like steak, chicken or roasted salmon. But, when I was growing up, it also meant beef stew on rye and tofu stir-fry in a pita, which definitely made my schoolmates raise an eyebrow. (Remember when we sent our kids to school?)
But it’s exactly what I plan to do with the leftovers of the potato and onion frittata I made the other night. Hot from the oven, we ate it with a shaved fennel and orange salad. Come lunchtime, I plan to slather those leftovers with mayo and Sriracha, and sandwich them between toasted sourdough. At least this time, no one other than my family will witness me eating it.
To make the frittata, start with some cooked potatoes. Leftover roasted are fantastic if you’ve got them, but you could also boil some raw cubed potatoes, about 2 cups for a frittata large enough to feed two for dinner with leftovers for two for lunch. (Or it could feed four for dinner, or any other way you want to do that math.)
Once you’ve got the potatoes, heat your oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, beat 8 eggs with salt and pepper until they’re uniformly yellow. Now get out your skillet — a well-seasoned cast-iron or nonstick will save you grief later — and use it fry a large sliced onion or other alliums in oil or butter until pale gold and soft. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in the potatoes, tossing until they’re hot. Pour in the eggs, and give everything a quick stir to distribute the vegetables, and place the pan in the oven.
The baking time is variable, depending on how much the eggs cooked when you stirred them around in the pan, and how much heat your pan holds. Start checking after five minutes but don’t be surprised if it takes 10 or even 15 minutes. It’s done when it jiggles only slightly in the center when you move the pan.
Serve the frittata hot, warm, or even cold. It’s good now and will be just as good tomorrow, whether you make it into a sandwich or not.
This is part of a weekday series in which Melissa Clark teaches you how to cook with pantry staples. (Other recipes in the series: Kimchi soup. Vegetable grain bowl. Coconut macaroons. Matzo brei. Green goddess dip. Garlicky braised greens. Pasta carbonara. Cornmeal poundcake. Root vegetables with chickpeas and yogurt. Cheesy shakshuka. Sardine-celery salad. Brothy lentils and rice. Flaky biscuits. Tahini omelet. Cold peanut noodles. Crunchy pantry popcorn. Vegetarian skillet chili. Dried beans. Baked oats. Canned tuna pasta. Any-vegetable soup. Pantry crumb cake.)