Broccoli Omelette

I didn't intend to do a post about today's lunch, but I had some time to kill, so here I am!

(Sorry no pictures...)

So, it's a Friday in Lent, what shall I have for lunch? Also, I'm trying to cut back on carbs (because I'm carrying around enough for a small village), so...

I remember I have some frozen broccoli, and of course, eggs. And I remember the late Father Angelo Caserta whipping up amazing omelettes when he would invite me over for dinner back in my days in Piqua.

So, here's what I did:

1. Start heating a pan well coated with olive oil. Don't skimp on the oil unless you don't like olive oil; in that case, use whatever fat you prefer. You could even make it without fat, if that's your jam.

2. Once the oil is good and hot, toss in a good handful of broccoli florets. I didn't bother to cut them down, because I was going to cook them till tender. But if you prefer, you can certainly do that. If I had been working with fresh broccoli, I might blanche them first, or else still sautee them, only longer. In any case, the goal here is to get the broccoli both hot and soft, but not mushy. I cooked the broccoli on around medium.

3. While the broccoli cooks -- keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn -- crack three eggs into a small bowl (I use a coffee cup). Add a generous pinch of salt (don't be scared of it). You can add a little water if you like, I did not. Mix these well, so that the yolks and whites are well blended. Or not, if you don't care about that.

4. When the broccoli is cooked as you like, pour the eggs over the broccoli. Check your heat; the temp in the pan will go down, but come up fast -- too fast -- if the fire is too high. You don't want to cook your eggs too fast, and I prefer my omelettes not to have any brown.

5. Stir the eggs, until they are still a little wet but fairly well set. Again, this is how I like an omelette. Remember, the eggs will continue cooking even after you turn off the fire. So when the eggs are close, I turn off the fire and let the residual heat do the rest. That's environmentally conscious, isn't it? I added a good grind of black pepper here, as well as a bit of cayenne pepper. Then I sprinkled some grated "Parmesan" cheese right out of the jar; real Parmesano or Pecorino would be worlds better, but I used what I had.

6. Now you roll it, and this intimidates people. The key here is not to overload it, or it won't fold over very well. And if that happens, who cares? As long as you don't over (or under) cook, it will be delicious. But the way I do it is to fold over a third of it, then...well, this is hard to explain, but Youtube videos aplenty show you how to do it. The point is that you end up with an omelette either with two folds (my preference) or one. If you fold twice and don't overcook it, you can further shape it on the plate.

7. At this point, I put just bit of butter on it, and sprinkled a little more black and red pepper. You could put parseley on it if you want, or paprika.

My omelette was very tasty, although I ought to have let the broccoli cook a bit more. No, not as tasty as I remember Father Caserta's, but still a lovely meal. And it only took a few minutes, and if you think about it, pretty cheap to make.