Tangled Branches: Satiated

riveting tales of how we sustain ourselves

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Indian-Style Omelet Sandwich

Today's lunch was Indian-style Omelet Sandwiches. I found the recipe last summer at One Hot Stove. We made this several times last year when we had plenty of good tomatoes. Now, in early spring, we just left out that part. It's good tomatoes or no tomatoes for us.

I made one large flat omelet in a 12-inch skillet - something like a very thin frittata. I didn't turn it over, just cooked it until the top was set. The omelet does get browned a bit on the bottom, but we think that's just fine.

Beat 2 eggs with about 1 tablespoon of half & half; mix in 1/2 onion chopped, 1 Pinocchio's Nose (long cayenne) pepper, some chopped fresh cilantro, and a few leaves of spinach cut into strips. Melt a small amount of butter in a 12" skillet and pour in the egg mixture. Cook, without turning, until the eggs are set. Toast 4 slices of Jim Lahey's no-knead bread, then generously butter the toast and divide the omelet in half to make 2 sandwiches.

Indianish Radish Relish

3 small French Breakfast Radishes
2 very tiny Shunkyo Radishes
3 pinches of Chunky Chat Masala
2 pinches of coarse salt
a few drops of lemon juice

Chop the radishes somewhat coarsely - think of the texture of hot dog relish. Mix all the ingredients, adjusting to taste.

My spouse used this as a topping for his omelet sandwich, but I thought it should be a side dish. Turns out it's good either way.

Labels: eggs, radishes

Monday, October 22, 2007

Onion-Walnut-Tarragon Frittata

Another idea borrowed from Deborah Madison. I made this frittata last night - it's based loosely on her Onion Omelet with Vinegar and Walnuts. It sounded too heavy with filling to me the way it was written, so I adjusted the quantities, changed the herb seasoning and simplified the thing into an easy Sunday supper.

Slice 1 medium yellow onion thickly, chop up fresh tarragon leaves to equal about a teaspoon, and heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt about 2 teaspoons butter in a 10" ovenproof non-stick skillet. Toss in a small handful of walnut pieces, season with salt and pepper and cook them over medium heat until lightly toasted. Pour out the walnuts and browned butter onto a plate.

Add enough olive oil (1 tbsp?) to the skillet to cook the onion slices. Cook and stir the onions over medium heat until they start to brown, then add a splash of sherry vinegar (a very small amount - 1/4 to 1/2 tsp.) Season with salt and pepper.

Beat 4 eggs and add to the skillet (with the onions still in it). Sprinkle with the chopped tarragon and top with the walnuts, drizzling as much of the browned butter on top as possible. Cook the frittata in the preheated oven until the eggs are set.

Cut into wedges and serve. Roasted potatoes with rosemary makes a nice accompaniment.

Labels: eggs, tarragon

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Pepper and Egg Sandwiches

Tuesday's gazpacho (below) was served with fancied-up pepper and egg sandwiches. I think soups and sandwiches just automatically go together, although sometimes I just serve soup and bread (not as austere as it sounds).

What I did:

Sliced into long strips (about 1/2 inch wide) one and a half green bell peppers and some mixed (mild and hot) New Mexico style red peppers. Sliced half a yellow onion lengthwise, and a clove of garlic crosswise. Heated some olive oil in a non-stick skillet over fairly high heat and sauteed the vegetables quickly, so the peppers were cooked through, but not limp and soggy. Lowered the heat and stirred in 3 beaten eggs. Cooked until set, seasoned with salt.

Then (here comes the fancy part) I split and toasted some squares of La Brea Pain Rustique, drizzled a small amount of leftover Rosemary/Garlic-Flavored Olive Oil on the bread, and arranged the peppers and eggs into a sandwich.

This turned out really well, and it was serendipitous. Trying to clean out the fridge, spotted the leftover flavored olive oil, and thought "Hmmmm..."

Labels: eggs, peppers, rosemary, sandwiches

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Herb Omelette

The luxury of fresh herbs inspired this omelette. I've made this for 2 weekends in a row. Will it be 3?

4 eggs
olive oil/butter

chopped fresh herbs
salt and black pepper to taste

Step 1: Gather fresh herbs. I used about 2 or 3 sprigs of tarragon, 2 or 3 sprigs of chervil, 4 or 5 parsley leaves, and smaller amounts of dill, chives, and lemon basil.

Step 2: Chop the herbs finely.

Step 3: Make an omelette in any way you like. I melt a bit of butter in a 12" non-stick skillet and add a splash of olive oil. The add 4 beaten eggs, and push the cooked egg around a bit to let the uncooked egg run to the bottom of the pan. If I knew how to make an omelette in the classical French manner, I'd do it that way. There's a good description in Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home, but I've never mastered it.

Step 4: When the eggs are almost set, sprinkle the chopped herbs on top, along with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. The amount of herbs after chopping was about 2 to 4 tablespoons. Fold the omelette in thirds, as if folding a letter. This is two servings in my view, so I cut the omelette in half for serving.

Last week, I had some onions I wanted to use up, so I added a small amount of sauteed onions.

Labels: eggs, herbs

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