Back to brunch

Saturday is our day to sleep in.  We don’t answer the phone or the door, and we don’t get out of bed before 10 AM.  And then we still take it easy and enjoy a nice homemade brunch, which usually consists of an omelette.  But I don’t make your traditional omelette – my omelette is something between scrambled eggs and open-faced omelette, and I love it.  Romanians don’t like to throw anything out especially vegetables.  So, on Saturday I go through the fridge and any vegetables that are on their last legs end up into my omelette.  In fact, any vegetables, mushrooms, salami, ham or chorizo get thrown into the omelette.  My favorite, though, is the vegetable based omelette.   

Vegetable Omelette

By Simply Romanesco inspired by Frittata Di Verdura: “Clean Out the Fridge” Frittata by David Rocco

Serves: 2-3 servings

Ingredients:

·         4 large eggs

·         Salt and black pepper

·         ¼ cup whole milk or heavy cream

·         ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, or Cheddar cheese, or Pecorino Romano, or any other cheese you like or you have on hand

·         4 Tablespoons vegetable oil

·         1 potato, washed, peeled and thinly sliced (I don’t peel the potato if I’m using a Red or Yukon Gold potato)

·         1 bell pepper, chopped

·         1 medium yellow onion, sliced

·         Optional: paprika

Instructions:

Heat the oil in a nonstick frying pan over medium heat.  Add the onion, the pepper and the potato.  Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of paprika (if using), and cook for 5-7 minutes or until the vegetables are fork tender.  At first, cook the vegetables over medium heat.  After 2-3 minutes, turn the heat down to medium-low. 

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the milk and the cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.  

Pour the egg and cheese mixture over the vegetables.  Turn the heat to medium and cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring everything together.  When the omelette is cooked sprinkle more cheese on top, if desired.  

I love this kind of omelette.  It fills you up, it’s tasty, and you don’t have to throw away any wilted vegetables.  This past weekend, I found a sweet potato in my pantry from Thanksgiving, and I used it in this week’s brunch.  It was delicious, colorful and sweet.  Poftă Bună! (Bon Appétit!)