Dandelion Omelette with Spring Herbs and Smoked Asiago

For some reason, every time I make an omelette I think of Neil Gaimen’s Sandman comic. There is this scene where Morpheus (the titular character) is asked what he wants to eat. He responds: “An omelette, a light salad and a glass of white wine…”

This, to me is the essence of brunch: A couple eggs, something green and restorative and a bit of the ‘ol hair of the dog. The perfect thing for that weird, still-dazed, what the hell am I doing with my day? feeling that comes from waking late and piecing together the night before. Food’s got to be nourishing, light and easy… With bite.

Speaking of bite, I’ve got a whole bag of lion’s teeth (ie. dandelion leaves) kicking around in my fridge and some beautiful smoked asiago cheese that my friend and food purveyor par excellence Noni got me from a chef on Quadra Island. If you can’t get your hands on smoked asiago, you can substitute smoked gouda mixed with a bit of sharp asiago to get roughly the same experience. Avoid apple wood smoked cheeses and their big, fist-pump flavours.

For this particular recipe I’m thinking I’ll keep it simple and subtle: Mix up a couple local, dark-yolked eggs, chives and some early spring herbs, there you have it. A quick, yet refined meal ready before the coffee’s finished brewing.

I’d serve this to the Lord of Dreams.

Dandelion Omelette with Spring Herbs and Smoked Asiago (Makes 1 omelette, ‘cause Crystal is at work)

Ingredients

• 3 Large Eggs (It’s worth it to hit up local farms or Co-op’ted stores to get some good, free-range eggs!)
• 1 Tbls. Chives (2g, finely chopped)
• 1 Tsp. Fresh thyme (1 ½g, stems, removed)
• 1 Tsp. Fresh Parsley (2g, finely chopped)
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 Tsp. Olive Oil
• ¼ Cup Smoked Asiago Cheese (20g, coarsely grated)
• 1 Handful of Dandelion Leaves (15g, washed and roughly torn in half if they are big ones)

 

Method

1. Whisk up the eggs, chives, thyme ‘n parsley in a small bowl and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
2. Fire up a medium-sized non-stick frying pan over medium heat and once hot, pour in the olive oil. Swish it around to evenly coat the bottom of the pan and pour in the egg mixture. Swirl the pan around to spread the egg into a single thin-as-possible layer just like if you were making a crepe. Cook the eggs for about a minute until only a thin, jiggly layer of uncooked egg rests on top.
3. Spread an even layer of the asiago over the eggs and give it a sec to start melting. Arrange the dandelion leaves over the cheese and get ready to flip. The easy way is to just get your handy plastic spatula under one half of the omelette and just fold it over… But what fun is that? If your non-stick surface and oil have done their job the omelette will gently slide back and forth when you shake the pan. Slide the omelette toward the far rim of the pan with a bit of a flip, it should fold over onto itself like a giant, eggy, ravioli. No need to cook it any further, just turn it out onto a plate. Serve with a light salad and white wine.

 

Music To Cook This To:

Gorillaz

(Pick it up Here @ Amazon)