A Guide to Recycling Your Leftover Bagels & Catering

BAGEL FRITTATA

Time: 30 min

Ingredients: 2 tbsp butter, 1⁄2 onion (chopped), salt, 1 tbsp chopped parsley (or sage or rosemary), 1 1⁄2 cups cubed bagel, 1 1⁄2 cups grated mozzarella cheese (or a combination of mozzarella and Parmesan or Pecorino Romano), 6 eggs, 2 tbsp olive oil

Instructions: Heat the oven to 375°F. Heat an ovenproof skillet. Add the butter, onion, and 1⁄2 tsp salt and cook over medium heat until the onion is tender, 5-10 min. Stir in the herbs. Add the cubed bagel and stir to coat. Remove to a bowl to cool for a few minutes. Add the grated cheese. Beat the eggs with a little pinch of salt. Add to the bowl with the bagel. Wipe out the skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Coat well with olive oil. Add the egg mixture and move the set part toward the middle a few times. As soon as the sides have cohered, transfer to the oven. Cook until the top is just set, checking after 8 min, then again until it's done. Cool briefly in the pan. This is better room temperature than hot and is good made with any bagel and any combination of bagel other than cinnamon raisin.

CAPER BUTTER

Time: 3 min

Ingredients: 1–2 tbsp capers (roughly chopped), 4 tbsp (1⁄2 stick) room-temperature butter.

Instructions: Combine well. Delicious on toast topped with scrambled or poached or boiled egg. Also delicious on grilled or fried meat or fish or vegetables. If you want it more caper-y, add more capers to the butter. A variation is to add a tbsp of finely chopped parsley or dill or both. Another variation is to add 1 tbsp finely chopped anchovy. Another variation is to add a scrape of garlic you’ve pounded to a paste with salt. Another variation yet is to add a few drops of the caper juice. Or use the last few capers in Tartar Sauce, Tapenade, Olive Tapenade, Sauce Gribiche, Salsa Verde, or Tamar's Best Grain or Bean Salad.

LOX RICE BOWL

Time: 20 min

Ingredients: 1 cup freshly cooked short-grain Japanese rice, 1 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar (or regular rice vinegar with 1⁄2 tbsp sugar and a pinch of salt mixed in) plus to taste, toasted sesame seeds, 1 tbsp–1⁄4 cup chopped or julienned lox, 1 tbsp seaweed salad (or julienned cucumber, basil, or shiso), 1 tbsp julienned pickled ginger, cubed avocado (optional), julienned toasted nori (optional).

Instructions: Mix the rice with the seasoned rice vinegar, then spoon into a bowl. Shake heavily with sesame seeds, then arrange the lox, seaweed salad, pickled ginger, avocado (if using), and nori (if using), each in its own little pile, and eat.

FĀN QIÉ CHĂO DÀN/TOMATO & EGG STIR-FRY

Time: 10-15 min

Ingredients: 2 eggs, 1⁄2 tsp salt, 2 tbsp neutral oil (peanut or grapeseed), 1 scallion (sliced), 1⁄2-1 cup chopped tomatoes, 1⁄2 tsp sugar (optional), hot rice for eating.

Instructions: In a bowl, beat together the eggs and . tsp of the salt. Heat an omelet pan. Add 1 tbsp of the oil, then the eggs, and lightly scramble until just set, then pour onto a plate. Heat the pan again, add the remaining 1 tbsp oil, then add the scallion, tomatoes, sugar if using, and remaining tsp salt and stir-fry until the tomatoes have begun to break down and release juice, 1-2 min. Return the eggs to the pan and mix through briefly. Eat on rice. If you have only a half a tomato, or a handful of chopped ones, heat a small skillet, add 1-2 tbsp olive oil, then add the tomatoes and a little salt and cook them until they've just broken down and become a spoonful of saucy tomatoes. This can be added to sautéeing greens or be used to make bruschetta or included in scrambled eggs or used in Pan con Tomate.

TO MAKE FRESH BREAD CRUMBS

Instructions: If you can, saw off the crusts; if not, leave them. Cut or break what remains into cubes or big pieces. If the bagel isn’t totally dry, set an oven to 200°F, lay in a single layer on a sheet pan, and leave in the oven until hard and dry, then remove and let cool to room temperature. Grind in a food processor to fine or semi fine crumbs. If there are any crumbs too large to easily use, set a medium-mesh sieve over a bowl and pour the crumbs through. Store in a bag or jar in the freezer.

TO MAKE TOASTED BREAD CRUMBS

Instructions: Heat the oven to 400°F. Saw off the crusts if you can; if not, leave them. Grind the bagel in a food processor into rough crumbs. Toss with a good deal of olive oil, spread on a baking sheet in a single layer, and cook until golden brown and crisp, 5–12 min, checking on them and mixing throughout. Remove to another surface immediately to stop their cooking.

TO MAKE CROUTONS

Instructions: Heat the oven to 400°F. Saw off the crusts if you can; if not, leave them. Tear the rest into pieces of similar size. Toss with a good deal of olive oil, spread on a baking sheet, and bake until golden brown and crisp, 10–15 min, checking on them and mixing them midway. Remove to another surface immediately to stop their cooking.

FAST RIBOLLITA

Time: 30 min

Ingredients: Olive oil, 1–2 tbsp chopped onion, 1 clove garlic (sliced), salt, a few leaves rosemary (roughly chopped), 4 leaves cooking greens (like kale, collards, or chard, stemmed and chopped; or 1⁄4 cup leftover cooked greens), 2 cups broth (bean cooking liquid, or any combination chicken stock, liquid from cans of tomatoes, water), 1 piece Parmesan rind, 1 cup cubed stale bread, 1⁄3–1⁄2 cup cooked beans, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, freshly ground black pepper.

Instructions: In a large pot, heat 1⁄4 inch olive oil. Add the onion and garlic, salting them as soon as you add them, and cook until they begin to soften, after about 5 min. Add the rosemary and greens, stir through. Add the broth, Parmesan rind, and bread. Partially cover, opening to stir occasionally, breaking up the bread with a spoon when you do. Add water if needed to keep things from sticking. Simmer on medium-low heat for about 20 min. Stir in the beans and simmer 2–3 min until hot. Serve topped with Parmesan and black pepper.