Monday, September 22, 2008

Decadent Eggs

I have a peculiar love-hate relationship with eggs. There are times when I positively crave them, and times when the sight or scent of them makes me want to hurl. I think most of all, I object to the smell of eggs and the way the aroma lingers around the house. The way my cook makes it, the aroma hangs around for ages. But when well-cooked, eggs can be delightful and I love cooking them for leisurely weekend breakfasts.

There's slow scrambled eggs, which are buttery and delicious, especially with some snipped chives, and maybe some cheddar grated in. I got the recipe from my friend Lulu's blog, and while it takes more time than the typical way one scrambles eggs, the buttery goodness is well worth the effort. I think I did post the recipe up on this blog as well at some point.

The other thing I love is a really well-made omelette. My brother-in-law in Toronto, who runs award-winning restaurant Amaya, treated us to his omelettes when we visited them 3 years ago, and I've never ever had omelettes that delicious. I copy his method now whenever I make omelettes and they turn out almost as well. Interestingly, the method for cooking these is also slow, unlike the typical French omelette which one is supposed to cook fast over a high flame and serve while it's somewhat runny. You basically take whatever's lying in your refrigerator and a few minutes of magic later - there you are with decadently tasty omelettes. Fluffy, light, not egg-smelling and creative all at once, they make an ordinary saturday breakfast into a festive brunch!
Ingredients:
Eggs ( typically take 2-3 per person; these are not diet omelettes. Or you can take 3 eggs for 2 people and cut the omelette in halves)
Half glass of milk
Dollop of butter
Finely chopped vegetables of your choice - onions, red and yellow bell peppers, green bell peppers, tomatoes, asparagus tips, shredded spinach, spring onions, leeks...whatever you can scrounge for in the fridge as long as they are not watery veggies like tinda/ lauki
Cheese of your choice...the harder ones, ideally - cheddar, gloucester, edam. If using soft cheese like blue, camembert or brie, remember to toss them in just before you turn off the heat.
Meat of your choice ( though I'm not an expert on what meats you can add and when, being vegetarian)
Salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Method:
Beat the eggs together with the milk until light and foamy. Meanwhile, put a nonstock frying pan on to heat at the lowest possible heat and add the butter.
Once the butter has melted, add the egg and milk mix and swirl the pan so the mixture covers the entire bottom of the pan.
Once the egg mixture just begins to solidify ( a slow process since you're cooking on low flame), sprinkle the vegetables and the cheese over the surface and cover the pan with a tightly fitting lid.
Let cook, still on low flame for 5-7 minutes and then check to see if done - the liquid egg mix should have turned opaque and almost entirely solid. If it hasn't yet cooked, cover the pan again and let it cook for a few more minutes until done but not brown.
Using a sharp-edged wooden spatula, run the spatula around the edges of the pan and turn one half of the omelette onto the other half.
Slide onto a plate and serve with hot buttered toast. If you want to divide the omelette up, cut the halved omelette in halves in the pan, before sliding them onto a plate.