One thing I can't stand is having extra ingredients go bad in my fridge. Last week, I was in Oriental Square, a Chinese Market in my neck of the woods that has amazing deals on produce. I buy all types of fresh vegetables and herbs there: they have the best prices on shiitake mushrooms, only $2.50 a pound. I can buy a couple sticks of lemon grass for less than 50 cents, and fresh herbs like cilantro are less than a dollar a bundle. I usually end up buying so much, that I can barely finish everything I purchase.
That almost happened to me with some bok choy I had purchased there. I bought eight vibrant green heads of the stuff for $2, and used four the first night stir fried whole. For the next few nights, I went out to eat, and the bok choy sat in the fridge. On Sunday morning I knew the amazingly green and crisp leaves would start to wilt if I didn't use them that day. But it was breakfast time, and I've never made breakfast with bok choy before. My girlfriend and I decided we would experiment, and what we ended up with was bok choy quiche.
I could've made some pie crust from scratch, but my girlfriend balked
at the idea of eating breakfast too late (it was basically approaching
lunch time anyway - we're late to rise on Sundays). So I peeked into
the freezer and found some filo dough I had bought ages ago. I
defrosted that in the microwave (a no-no), and layered some in the
bottom of a buttered, 12" iron skillet. Since I wanted the bottom to
resemble crust, I didn't bother brushing butter between each layer of
filo, something you would ordinarilly do to keep it fluffy and flaky.
Then, I chopped the bok choy into quarter-sized pieces and sauteed it
until the green leaves wilted and the crisp stems softened just a tad.
I took the pieces out and added a few dashes of sriracha and tamari soy
sauce, just enough to coat but not so much that it became wet. I
quickly steamed some broccoli I had in the fridge as well, tossed it in
an ice bath to shock it, and added it to the bok choy.
I rumaged around the fridge for some cheese - I always keep plenty on
hand. I used a big slodge of mozzarella and some sheeps milk romano
(tip for keeping hard cheeses almost indefinitely - wrap in cling film,
then in foil). I added the vegetables and cheese into the filo-lined
skillet. Then I whipped up eight eggs with a half cup of milk (I had no
cream) and two cloves of minced garlic, and poured the mixture on top.
I then lined the top with more filo dough, this time I buttered between
every layer so the top crust would flake up.
After 40 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees, this is what I had. Of
course, this is plated, and topped with cumin-laced sour cream and a
roquette salad with lemon dijon vinaigrette that I made quickly with a
TBS of dijon, juice of half a lemon, and a few glugs of olive oil.
Breakfast is served, and my conscience was clear - no wasted leftovers
rotting in my fridge.
Bok Choy Quiche
4 Heads Bok Choy, chopped, sauteed
1/2 Head Broccoli, chopped, steamed
1 tsp. sriracha
1 tsp. tamari
8 large eggs
1 package frozen filo dough
1/2 cup milk
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup romano cheese
1/4 stick unsalted butter
optional:
1/2 cup sour cream
1 TBS milk
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
(mix above to make cumin sour cream)
1 TBS dijon mustard
juice of half a lemon
2 TBS olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
(mix above to make lemon-dijon vinaigrette)
roquette (arugula)
