A Big Little Recipe has the smallest-possible ingredient list and big everything else: flavor, creativity, wow factor. Psst—we don't count water, salt, black pepper, and certain fats (specifically, 1/2 cup or less of olive oil, vegetable oil, and butter), since we're guessing you have those covered. Today, we’re giving bacon a run for its money.
There are countless ways to assemble an American breakfast sandwich, but the template usually goes something like this: bread, eggs, cheese, meat. Maybe the bread is a kaiser roll, bagel, or biscuit. The eggs scrambled, fried, or frittata-ed. The cheese American, cheddar, or gouda. But the meat is where it gets really opinionated.
Take, for instance, this New York Times headline from a few years back: “Don’t mess with my bacon, egg, and cheese,” wrote restaurant critic Pete Wells. To him, the BEC is “the classic and possibly highest formulation” of a breakfast sandwich. And I understand how strongly people feel about bacon (largely thanks to this deep-dive, with 500 comments and counting).
But I’m here to mess with it anyway.
The good news is you can still call this Big Little Recipe a BEC. The fine print is the ‘B’ no longer stands for bacon. It stands for broccoli.
I first stumbled upon this idea at Gertie, a sunny Brooklyn restaurant with griddled muffins, tahini-ranch salads, cauliflower Parm, and other things I want to eat right now. But more than anything else, what I can’t stop thinking about is their take on breakfast sandwiches: egg and cheese on a bialy or English muffin, with “heritage bacon” or “seasonal veggies.”
Talk about a newfangled way to eat less meat. This is one of my resolutions for 2020, as it has been for the past several years. Because it makes me feel better. And, in a small way, it makes the planet feel better.
But maybe you’re still raising your eyebrows at bacon versus broccoli. Which, from a distance, may seem like pitting the Yankees against a high school baseball team and calling it a fair fight. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Obviously, broccoli isn’t porky or smoky or even fatty, but when rubbed with olive oil, showered with salt and pepper, and roasted at a blistering temperature, it too is highly craveable—with crunchy-fried florets, buttery-tender stalks, and a happy-go-lucky color.
The rest of the sandwich is up to you. I’m partial to chewy English muffins, sharp cheddar, and yolky eggs that ooze all over my wrists. But perhaps you’re more about an everything bagel, American cheese, and over-hard eggs. Or seven-grain toast, provolone, and a folded omelet. And if you want to add hot sauce or chile paste or pickled peppers on top? You should. Go for it—mix and match to your heart’s content. Just don’t mess with my broccoli.
| 1 | small head broccoli (about 1 pound) |
| 1 1/2 | tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 2 teaspoons |
| 3/4 | teaspoon kosher salt |
| 1/2 | teaspoon freshly ground black pepper |
| 4 | English muffins, white or whole-wheat, halved with a fork |
| 8 | slices extra-sharp cheddar cheese |
| 4 | extra-large eggs |
| 1 | small head broccoli (about 1 pound) |
| 1 1/2 | tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 2 teaspoons |
| 3/4 | teaspoon kosher salt |
| 1/2 | teaspoon freshly ground black pepper |
| 4 | English muffins, white or whole-wheat, halved with a fork |
| 8 | slices extra-sharp cheddar cheese |
| 4 | extra-large eggs |
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Written by: Emma Laperruque
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