This is the kind of dish that we love to knock up as an impromptu supper dish, using up whatever leftovers we can find. This omelette is closer to an Italian frittata – thick and chunky, rather than semi-soft and folded like the French version. In Spain, they’d be just as likely to colour the eggs with saffron to make a deep rich golden tortilla. We include it in the ingredients here, but feel free to vary the recipe as you choose. The real beauty of a meal like this is that you can throw in whatever goodies you can find in the fridge.
Our version, true to its Spanish roots, includes potatoes, thick chunks of spicy chorizo and the salty tang of large green olives. If you have any red peppers around, or tomatoes, throw them in for extra colour. This omelette is lovely eaten warm for supper or lunch, and is also delicious eaten cold. Cut it into wedges and include it in a mezze selection, or take it on a picnic. You might even try it out in the kids’ school lunch box.
Serves: 2
Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 50ml olive oil
- 1/2 onion, roughly chopped
- 2 medium potatoes, cut into 1cm cubes
- garlic, roughly chopped
- 90g semi-dried chorizo sausages, thickly sliced
- 1/2 handful large green olives, pitted
- 1/2 tablespoon parsley leaves, chopped
- 4 large eggs
- 7 strands saffron, lightly roasted and crushed (optional)
- salt and pepper
Method
Heat half the olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan. Use one that is fairly deep and not too large, or you’ll end with a flat pancake affair, rather than a dense deep eggy cake. Sauté the onion and potatoes on medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes until they soften. You will need to stir them fairly often to make sure that they remain uncoloured. Add the garlic, chorizo, olives and parsley, and mix everything together. Cook for a few more minutes over medium heat, then transfer to a bowl.
Lightly whisk the eggs with the saffron and season with salt and pepper. Wipe out the pan, then pour in the remaining olive oil and heat. Pour the eggs over the potato mixture, then tip everything into the pan. Cook on high heat for a couple of minutes, until it starts to set on the underside, and bubble and puff up around the edges. Lower the heat, cover the pan and cook for about six minutes or so, or until the eggs set.
Take the pan to the table, cut the omelette into wedges and serve with a green leaf salad.
Recipe taken from Moorish by Greg and Lucy Malouf
Use chermoula as readily as pesto, be as comfortable with tagines as with casseroles and make spices such as sumac and saffron as much a part of your repertoire as basil and rosemary. Greg and Lucy Malouf have compiled this collection of mouth-watering recipes inspired by the flavours of North Africa, Spain, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East – regions united by a common thread that winds its way back to Arabia. Starting with recipes for spice blends, dressings, relishes, pickles and preserves, you’ll be able to transform the most mundane ingredients into deliciously different Moorish snacks and soups, meat, vegetable and poultry dishes, and irresistible cakes and desserts. Toss preserved lemon through risotto, or spice up a Sunday lamb roast with a baharat spice mix. Transform humble chicken paillard with savoury cumin butter, or try Atlantic Salmon Grilled with Sumac. For dessert, make a delectable mango tart filled with orange-blossom water or liven up weekend breakfast with Hot Lemon Fritters and Cinnamon Sugar. Beautifully illustrated and written in Lucy’s engaging style, Moorish is, above all, a passionate celebration of flavour that will inspire and delight the adventurous home cook.
To purchase Moorish at a discount, please visit www.cooked.com.au
Related articles:
Spicy Spanish Tomato Rice
Omelette Arnold Bennett
Mushroom and Feta Omelette
