Get Cooking — Healthy Breakfasts – Two-Minute Omelet au Moulin Rouge

Ahoy!  Today is Part Two of our Sundried Tomato Lovefest, and the first in our series of healthy, quick breakfasts.

I’ll be answering your questions about cereal soon.  (In response to Monday’s post about eating cereal, Matt asked about the sprouted grain types.  And Alta chimed in with some excellent breakfast suggestions.)  In the meantime, allow me to introduce you to a breakfast so delicious, so spirited — and so fast! — it’ll make you want to can-can:

Good morning indeed...

Two-Minute Omelet au Moulin Rouge:

Omelets make excellent breakfasts because the combination of protein and fat satiates & powers you through your morning.

This particular omelet is also, by far, my favorite way to incorporate those little ruby gems known as sundried tomatoes into my winter day.

Oh, and banish all thoughts of pretentious brunches and laborious stretches over the stove: this omelet comes together in seconds. Seconds. And if you’re usually intimidated by the idea of making an omelet, fear not: this little sucker is easy-peasy to produce.

Omelets are also great to make the night before a commute or flight; just let your little masterpiece cool and then wrap it up and refrigerate it.  The next morning, toss it in your bag either alone or as part of an omelet sandwich.

The video I hoped to regale you with is not behaving (hussy!), so this’ll be a photo-only post.  But I wrote it “for a four-year-old,” so if you’re intimidated by the idea of making zee omelet, I say to you, “Non! Eet ees so eeeeezeee, eveen an amairicain can doo eet.” (Channeling the pernicious Madame Brassard there.)

OK, let’s make this sucker.

Ingredients:

2 farm eggs per person — We’ll cover eggs more in the Get Healthy Holly section shortly, but for now, try to get as close to “real eggs” as possible:  organic, free-range and with as orange a yolk as you can find.

Anywhere between 2 teaspoons and a Tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil.  I like it better than butter in this omelet iteration.  Molto luscious!

a wee bit of salt – see this post for more on the best kind of salt to use

a thumb-sized portion of organic cheese per serving.  I like Organic Valley mozzarella.  It’s not my Zia Rita’s definition of mozzarella, but it gives good flavor and consistency when melted.

a smattering of organic sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil, or a few that you’ve reconstituted with hot water.  (Use the infused water as a flavoring agent in soup.)

garlic chives, if you have them.  They add a lovely flavor without overpowering the omelet.

Zee How:

First, we make a two-egg omelet.

* Have your plate nearby.  You don’t want to be looking for it after you’ve started cooking.  (Note from the ghost of failed omelets past: “She means it.”)

* Start with an 8-inch stainless steel or cast-iron pan.  A pan that is too big will make your omelet too thin and burn it.  And non-stick pans are no bueno.  I’ll do a post delving more deeply into that soon.

This'd be cold oil in the skillet.

* Add your oil to a cold pan.  This is for a few reasons: we don’t want it splattering all over you as you add it to a hot pan, for one thing, and we don’t to burn the oil.

* Turn the burner to high — be not afraid of heat!  Restaurant burners use huge amounts of BTUs that our home ranges can’t even touch.  Heat is a good thing.  It’s what cooks zee food and keeps zee eggs from zee  sticking.

Eggs Before...

* While you’re waiting for the oil to heat up, gently — VERY GENTLY — mix the eggs together.  We don’t want any violence here.  Use a fork and just coddle them into smooching each other.

Eggs after listening to Justin Timberlake...

* Watch the oil.  It will start to change and shimmer.  You know how when you’re driving down a country highway, the horizon starts to look a bit hazy and shimmery?  That’s what the oil will start to do as it heats up.  We like this.  It’s pretty, and it’ll tell us when to add the eggs so that they actually cook and don’t stick.  (So thoughtful!)

This'd be the hot oil. See the wavy shimmery quality? That's hot. Hawt, bothered & ready to rock.

* Swirl the oil around the pan to make sure the edges are coated.  When the oil seems like it’s about to send up tiny little smoke signals, it’s time to add the eggs.  You can test the oil by dropping a teensy bit of egg into the skillet.  If the egg immediately sizzles, you’re ready.

* The second you add the eggs, they’ll start cooking — you’ll have about 30 seconds to get ‘er done, so GO QUICKLY NOW! Dump in the eggs in one fell swoop and immediately start to scramble them with your fork while simultaneously jerking the skillet around on the burner.  (Another reason not to use non-stick.  The metal fork would scratch up the coating.)

can can image courtesy http://www.Lautrec.info/

* Lift the skillet off the heat to keep the eggs from burning.  Jerk the skillet around a bit to keep the eggs from sticking.  (Little staccato jerks.   We don’t want you egging yourself.)  After a few scrambling motions, the eggs should coagulate into one mass – zee omelet.  It’s still going to be fairly raw in the center.  That’s OK; it’ll cook.

* NOW add the salt.  (Adding salt too early would make the eggs seize up and weep.  Poor eggs!)

* At this point, turning the skillet at about a 45 degree angle, bring the omelet to the edge of the skillet and quickly add the chives, cheese and sundried tomatoes.

Um, simultaneous cooking, photographing & plating need more than two hands. Who wants to be my sous-chef?

* Plate the sucker. The easiest way to do this is to just slide it onto the plate, folding it over and then adjusting the shape with your fork.  Add some freshly ground black pepper and a smile.

* Note: if your omelet falls apart, pretend you intended to make scrambled eggs.  As Julia Child used to say, “Never apologize!”

One more beauty shot. (It says this is its best angle of repose...which, by the way, is a great book by the late, great Wallace Stegner...)

Taste.  Swoon. That’s it!  You’re done. This dish is smashing and chic, full of good protein and good fats, and is especially luscious when served for supper with a simple spinach salad, a crusty piece of bread and a beautiful little glass of pinot grigio.

May you try it and love it, and may it bring a beautiful burst of sunshine to your day.

Love and smoochies,

Holly

P.S.  I just realized it’s Wednesday — so I’m adding this to Real Food Wednesdays hosted over at Kelly the Kitchen Kop. Yum!

Tagged as: breakfasts, eggs, moulin rouge omelet