While Yotam is a devout omnivore, he has seemingly become the voice of vegetarian cooking across the pond. His recipes use imaginative combinations, pull from a nice range of cultural influences and they are super tasty too! Okay, love fest over.
I've posted his garlic soup with harissa and cauliflower-cumin fritters with lime yogurt. This recipe for a chard and saffron omelette is delicious. It takes a bit more time to make than say, scrambling an egg. But it's worth it.
The key to making this dish successful is to mind the flame (making the heat too high will burn the eggs which have an almost crepe-like quality) and be generous with salt and pepper. Ottolenghi presents the omelette in a fan shape by folding it two times, but when I did this it caused some of the filling to fall out. So either fan-it or serve it in a traditional omelette shape.
I also removed the chard from the stalk, opting not to use it. The original recipe uses the stalk because this particular dish cooks for a while, letting the tough stalk cook through. I guess both ways work. Other than that, I just followed the recipe as is.
Okay, my appetite is sated and now I'm off to ride the Georgetown Loop Railroad in the historic (former) mining town. I love Historic Colorado!
{Note: I do my grocery shopping by making recipes that use overlapping ingredients. This way it's not too expensive because nothing goes to waste and every ingredient purchased is used in multiple dishes. So, for example, the left-over creme fraîche will be used in a carrot-fennel soup this week. The left-over parsley and dill will go into an Ina Garten French Potato Salad. I try to do this every time I shop to keep costs down.}
Chard and Saffron Omelette (Courtesy of Yotam Ottolenghi, Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London's Ottolenghi)
Serves 4 (or 2 hungry people)
Ingredients
1/2 lb (1 medium) waxy potato, peeled and cut into 3/8 inch dice
1 cup water
pinch of saffron threads
3/4 lb Swiss Chard stalks and leaves (I omitted the stalks), shredded
salt and pepper to taste (season this dish well)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 garlic clove, crushed
5 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2/3 cup chopped herbs (tarragon, dill, parsley)
vegetable oil
1/2 cup creme fraîche, cold
Directions
Put the potatoes, water and saffron in a large pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 4 minutes, then add the chard and some salt and pepper. Continue cooking, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the potato is soft. Drain out any excess liquid that is left in the pan. Off heat, add the lemon juice and garlic. Leave to cool.
Whisk together well the eggs, milk, herbs and some salt and pepper. Pour 1 teaspoon of oil into a hot, 9-inch nonstick frying pan, then use one-quarter of the egg mixture to make a thin round omelette. Transfer to a paper towel. Make three more omelettes in the same way. Leave to cool down.
Divide the cold creme fraîche among the omelettes, spreading it over half of each. Taste the chard mixture and adjust the seasoning, then spread generously over the creme fraîche. Fold each omelette over in half, then fold again to get a fan shape.
Allow the chard mix to show at the open side. Arrange the omelettes in a lightly oiled ovenproof baking sheet. (Keep in the fridge if making ahead.) When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place the omelettes in the oven for 5-8 minutes or until hot. Serve at once.
