Rolled Spinach and Cheese Omelettes

My original plan was just to scramble some eggs and keep it simple. Then I remembered that I had some ricotta and Parmesan in the fridge. I also had some chopped frozen spinach in the freezer that I tossed into the microwave to thaw. As I went outside to pick some parsely I realized that my plans were quickly snowballing out of control.

Making things worse, I wasn’t going to be satisfied with a regular omelette (or omelet? Wikipedia says omelette, so I’m sticking with it). Folding it in half is so predictable. Maybe rolling it is cliché, but I have never had a rolled omelette, so I felt cool coming up with the idea.

Feel free to add anything you want to your version, bits of bacon, ham, vegetables… Keep in mind that these omelettes are thinner than regular ones, so rolling large or chuncky things would probably just cause it to tear. I’m happy with how this turned out, especially because I wasn’t even trying to do anything original when I started. In the end this was more complicated than scrambled eggs, but still easier than a real omelette.

Spinach and Cheese Omelette

Ingredients
3 eggs – 1 per omelette
milk – a splash per egg, about a tablespoon per egg
salt and pepper
frozen chopped spinach
olive oil or butter
any cheeses on hand: ricotta, Parmesan
parsley (for garnish) (Now that I have a plant of this stuff I tend to toss it everywhere.)
salsa

Directions

1. Break three eggs into a mason jar, add a splash of milk and a pinch of salt, cover and shake–presto scrambled eggs.
2. Put enough spinach for three omelettes (about 2 tablespoons per omelette) into a bowl and microwave until warm.
3. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add a splash of olive oil (~1 tsp) (or butter for more awesome taste) and swirl to coat the skillet.
4. Add about one third of the egg mixture and swirl to coat the skillet. This will be a thin omelette, that’s fine. Let it cook until it sets, this will happen fairly quickly (~1 min). Flip it as soon as you think it has set enough to handle.
5. Spread about a tablespoon of ricotta, a teaspoon of Parmesan, a few cracks of black pepper and a good pinch of the spinach over the open omelette. Transfer to a large plate.
6. Once on the plate roll the omelette into the spiral you see below and repeat steps 4-6 with the other two omelettes.
7. Serve with the salsa and some chopped parsely. Enjoy your breakfast.

Spinach and Cheese Omelette

It might not look like the most attractive dish in the world, but it was eaten pretty quickly.

Why add the vodka? It comes down to the solubility of different compounds in foods. Solubility just means that one thing is able to dissolve into another. Just because something dissolves in water doesn’t mean that it will dissolve in everything else (try adding salt to oil and stir as much as you want, it won’t dissolve like it does in water). This is not just true for solids, but liquids too; fats and oils will dissolve in alcohol, but not in water (think about what happens when you add olive oil to water). In short, both water and fats are soluble in alcohol so it helps spread more flavors more evenly throughout the dish. Wine can be used, but a neutral spirit, vodka, was chosen to avoid the additional flavors found in wine.

Penne with salmon vodka cream sauce.

Directions

1. Bring the tomato sauce just to a simmer over medium to med-high heat in a large skillet. Add the vodka and stir until it is absorbed. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the penne and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes (check the pasta packet). It should still be firm, but cooked through. Drain.
3. About 6-7 minutes into the cooking time of the pasta, add the cream to the sauce and stir to combine. Then sprinkle evenly with parmesan and stir until it is melted and well incorporated. Add the drained salmon, trying not to break it into too many tiny peices.
4. Combine the drained pasta with the sauce and toss to coat.