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| Jamie Oliver's 45-second omelet |
To me,
leftovers are a gift. It’s a good thing because I’ve been eating a lot of them
lately, a side benefit of having done a lot of cooking. I’ve had coulibiac
(individual hand patties, like pasties, with a salmon filling), marinated
vegetables, remains of a family favorite casserole, hot dogs and beans from the
Fourth. Such good lunches and suppers.
One
night this week, I composed supper out of leftovers. It was delicious, though
it didn’t look as pretty as I hoped. It was, sort of, an omelet. I’ve never
successfully made an omelet in my life. I think Lisa, daughter-in-law, used to
make them frequently and had a special pan for them. I don’t have that—just a
flat skillet.
I’d
read recently about Jamie Oliver’s 45-second omelet that is light and fluffy.
His basic technique is to beat two eggs until all the streaks disappear, get a
skillet very hot, add a small glug (I love cooks who refer to a glug as a
measurement—it’s actually a sound) of oil or butter, add eggs. Trick is to have
a big skillet, so that the eggs are a really thin layer. Immediately sprinkle
with Parmesan and remove from the heat. Then keep “nudging” at the edge with
your spatula. The eggs will continue to cook. You can read a much better description
and instructions here: I Tried
Jamie Oliver's 45-Second Omelet | Kitchn (thekitchn.com)
Of
course, my downfall was that I didn’t stick to the instructions religiously.
You see, it was the leftovers. I had a bit of smoked salmon that was about to
run out of date, and two half-containers of fresh mushrooms that cried out to
be used. And then a neighbor, leaving town, gave me a pint of cippolini mushrooms,
tiny little things that I would have called boiler onions.
I
tried peeling—got two onions done and realized I would be at it all day. There
had to be a better way. Naturally, I went online to look up cippolini—the only
thing I knew was that I used to like a funky little restaurant in Austin with
that name. It seems the trick is to spread the cippolini out in a pan, cover
with boiling water, and let sit for five minutes. Even so, they’re not easy to
peel and even more difficult to slice without taking your thumb with them. But
they have a lot of sugar and caramelize nicely.
Before
I started my omelet, I sauteed the onions and mushrooms together and diced the
salmon. Had them all ready to go, next to my hot plate. Then I whisked the eggs
with a bit of salt (not too much because the salmon is salty) and pepper. But
then I made errors in judgement—at least, if I wanted a pretty omelet like the
one in the picture.
First
of all, my mind can’t get past one person, small skillet. So I used too small a
skillet and my egg layer wasn’t as thin as Oliver’s. And instead of a light
dusting of Parmesan I added these heavier ingredients—mushrooms, onions no
matter how tiny, and salmon. It was too much for two eggs, so as I folded the
eggs turned into cooked strands. But I kept “nudging” and folding until the
eggs were soft done, the way I like them. The result wasn’t pretty, but it was
absolutely delicious. And I’m the kind of cook who will take taste over looks
any day. No matter that my mom always insisted that food is half eaten with the
eye.
Think
of the omelets you’ve had in restaurants—fluffy and pretty, bursting with
potatoes and other vegetables, sometimes meat, lots of cheese. It just may be
that you can make that kind—Lisa, where is your pan?—or you can make Jamie
Oliver’s. The third choice is to make a messy but delicious omelet like I did.
What’s on your plate?
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| Judy's messy omelet |
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