Nigel Slater's tiny Omelette nd black-pudding frittata

[R. M. Dixit]

Nigel Slater's tiny omelette and black-pudding frittata recipes

Whether you like them plain or stacked with delicious flavourings, it's hard to beat a small, pan-sized omelette

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  • Sunday 22 January 2012
  
  Keeping it simple: small omelettes with finely hashed spring onions. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin for the Observer
  
  I'm not sure my omelette pan is any such thing. A pan worthy of the name should probably be nonstick and have a totally smooth surface and gently curving sides. The pan in which I make mine is black steel, only nonstick because of the years of service it has given, regularly being wiped with kitchen roll rather than taking a ride in the dishwater, being used for not only omelettes and the odd frittata but for frying onions, sautéing the occasional piece of chicken or frying some fingerling-sized strips of bacon to add to a winter salad of chicory, shredded celery and roasted walnut halves. It's as nonstick as Teflon.
  
  I have recently taken to making small omelettes the diameter of an espresso saucer, serving two or sometimes three per person. Rather than filling the pan in the normal way, I drop a small ladleful into the sizzling butter and let them form their own, often quite wacky shapes.
  What you end up with are tiny free-form omelettes to eat as they are or with whatever you fancy. A favourite addition of mine is spicy sausage – chorizo will do nicely – chopped and fried with spring onion, some chilli flakes, garlic and a little soy. Another is chopped mushrooms fried in butter with a sliver of garlic and a few splashes of sherry vinegar. I keep the topping warm in its little frying pan, then spoon it over the omelettes once they are done. Of course I could make a larger version, spoon on the accompaniments then fold it over in the traditional style. But that way you lose the look of the filling, which is glossy with sherry vinegar or soy and, with a few shreds of spring onion on, very appetising.
  The more I cook, the more I realise that if a piece of kitchen equipment works, it doesn't matter whether it's the correct one or not. Who is to say that a particular knife or pan is right for a certain job? What matters is that it works for us, that we are comfortable working with it, and that it works for the food, too. The crucial point is that we end up with something good to eat, and it really doesn't matter how we get there.
  Spring onion omelettes
  
  Keeping it simple: small omelettes with finely hashed spring onions and, left, a frittata of black pudding Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin for the Observer Tiny free-form omelettes the size of a large biscuit. Let them form their own shape in the pan. Eat them as they are, or with the simple dressing below.
  Serves 3, makes 6
  ricotta 250g
  eggs 4, beaten
  spring onions 3
  coriander leaves a handful
  butter 20g, plus butter for cooking
  For the dressing:
  fish sauce 1 tbsp
  lime juice 1 tbsp
  soft brown sugar 2 tsp
  red chilli chopped, to tastevginger grated, to taste
  
  
  Warm the butter in a frying pan. When it starts to sizzle gently, pour a spoonful of mixture in and let it settle into a small pancake, about 6cm in diameter. Add as many others as you can comfortably fit in. Let them cook for a few minutes till lightly coloured on the underside then flip gently over and cook the other side for a minute.
  Lift the pancakes out on to a warm plate and serve immediately.
  Make a very simple dressing for the omelettes by mixing together the fish sauce, lime juice, soft brown sugar and a little red chilli and grated ginger to taste. Move the pungency and sweetness according to taste by adding more of the sugar and liquids as you think fit.
  Frittata of black pudding
  
  A frittata of black pudding. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin for the Observer If black pudding is not your thing, then any well-seasoned sausage might be worth a try. This is light lunch in our house, with one omelette serving two and a decent salad on the side. Fennel and apple with a clean-tasting dressing of oil, cider vinegar and a few chives worked very nicely.
  Serves 1-2
  butter a large knob
  black pudding 200g
  eggs 3
  parsley 2 heaped tbsp, roughly chopped
  parmesan 50g, shavedv
  Melt the butter in a frying pan. Remove the skin from the black pudding and crumble into the hot butter, leaving it to colour to a deep golden brown.
  
  

[tanhae]

nice

[shaista rao]

nyc

[rabia_pari]

nice sharing