Tag Archives: quick-cooking

Omelette ux fines herbes
breakfast/brunch, fall, french cuisine, summer, vegetarian

Using Up Herb Plants: Omelette aux Fines Herbes (with basic recipe)

Omelette ux fines herbes
High cuisine, not a simple attempt to use things up before going out of town for Thanksgiving

            Every fall, I bring my potted herb plants in from outside to enjoy using them for a bit longer. It works well enough for a while, but eventually they start to suffer from the limited sunshine. Since most of them are annuals, the time comes to use up what I can before starting again when summer returns. Everything except the rosemary is either done or fading. To use up as much as possible, I made a French classic, omelette aux fines herbes.

            Fines herbes is a mix of parsley, chives, tarragon, and chervil, common in French cuisine. The first three are widely available in the US, but chervil might require a specialty spice store or the internet. Supposedly it tastes like a milder parsley with a bit of a licorice undertone, but I couldn’t taste much difference. To compensate for all the herbs except parsley being dried, I also added some minced scallions to brighten things up.

            For many French chefs, making a perfect omelet is one of the primary tests of skill. After following the basic directions on pages 107 – 108 of 1000 Foods to Eat Before You Die, mine turned out pretty well. The flavor is distinctly understated, but the freshness from the herbs was nice as fall turns to winter. The slight licorice flavor from either the tarragon or chervil is definitely there. Perhaps it just needs a little heat to release its flavor. Chefs disagree on how much browning, if any, is ideal. Personally, I like more browning, both for flavor and the fact that it helps the egg unstick itself from the pan.

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            For each omelet, I used three eggs, beaten together with salt, pepper, and a tablespoon of milk. The herb mix contained three large parsley sprigs, minced, one minced scallion, and a teaspoon each dried chives, tarragon, and chervil. Half of the herb mixture gets added into the eggs before cooking. After melting about a tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium heat, the egg mixture is added to cook.

            To make sure that none of the eggs end up runny, I like to tilt the pan and lift up the edges of the cooked portion, letting the uncooked egg flow underneath. After this, sprinkle the remaining herb mixture over the surface. When the top is almost set, fold the right and left thirds of the omelet over onto the center. If this doesn’t work and you end up with a half-moon shaped omelet, don’t worry about it, it will still taste good. Let the omelet cook for another minute, covering the pan if desired to help it set, then slide it onto a plate.

            To make this simple mix of eggs and herbs sound extra fancy, serve with pommes de terre frits, compote de pomme, fruits frais, café au lait, or any combination thereof. In English, these are fried potatoes, applesauce, fresh fruit, and coffee with milk. To make anything sound fancy, say it in French, even if you have to use a translation app.

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Risotto verde
food history, italian cuisine, recipes, rice, spring, vegetarian

Risotto Verde: The Taste of Spring

Risotto verde

            Among the numerous varieties of risotto, there are a few classics, as detailed in 1000 Foods to Eat Before You Die on pages 233 – 234. Risotto bianco is the basic kind, made simply with rice, butter, a little onion or shallot, white wine, broth, parmesan cheese, and maybe some pancetta or bacon. Milanese is colored a bright golden yellow with saffron. Nero is colored black with squid ink. Piedmontese is enhanced with white truffles. Other varieties might include seafood, mushrooms, or vegetables.

            As you can probably guess, risotto verde is meant to be green. Frequently a spring specialty, it gets its color from parsley and either sweet green peas or asparagus. It’s very fresh-tasting and, when made with frozen peas, surprisingly quick and easy to prepare. To keep everything bright and fresh, I didn’t use any pancetta for my own recipe.

            Technically, you’re not “supposed” to reheat risotto, because it thickens upon standing and can become “gluey.” I’ve never had this problem, or maybe the texture upon reheating just doesn’t bother me. Just add a few drops of water before putting it in the microwave. It will still be a great accompaniment to your chicken sandwich for lunch, and it’s way healthier than chips.

Ingredients:

  • 4 tablespoons (or ¼ cup) butter, or 2 tablespoons each butter and olive oil
  • 1 shallot or ¼ onion, minced
  • 1 ½ cups arborio or other short-grain rice
  • 4 tablespoons (or ¼ cup) dry white wine (something light like pinot grigio), or replace with extra broth
  • 4 – 5 cups chicken or vegetable broth (broth made from poaching chicken works great here)
  • 1 10-ounce bag frozen peas
  • Half bunch parsley, large stems removed, minced
  • 1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

  1. Combine the broth and peas in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off heat, but leave on the stove.
  2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When bubbling, add shallot or onion and sauté for about 2 minutes, until softened.
  3. Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, until coated and translucent, about 2 minutes.
  4. Stir in the wine and cook, stirring constantly, until evaporated, another 2 or 3 minutes.
  5. Add the broth and peas, a ladleful at a time, stirring constantly, waiting for each to absorb before adding the next. Stir in the parsley about halfway through, saving a little to sprinkle on top at serving time.
  6. After adding 4 cups of broth, the risotto should be slightly liquid. If it seems too thick, add a little more broth.
  7. Remove from the heat, stir in the parmesan, sprinkle with remaining parsley, and serve immediately.

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Flaeskeaeggekage - Danish bacon and egg pancake
breakfast/brunch, danish cuisine, food history, recipes

Danish Bacon-Egg Pancake (Flaeskeaeggekage)

Flaeskeaeggekage - Danish bacon-egg pancake whole
Just look at how pretty it is. And it tastes as good as it looks.

Information found in 1000 Foods to Eat Before You Die (pg. 347), recipe is my own

            Bacon and eggs have been combined for centuries, probably because they both cook quickly on the stove. Most likely, this is why they are often considered breakfast food. I’m not going to get up early enough to make eggs and bacon for breakfast, but some morning people might. It will taste just as good for brunch, lunch, or dinner.

            There are a number of recipes for this difficult-to-pronounce Danish recipe. Variations include the amount of milk to use and whether or not to dice the bacon. I went with Mimi Sheraton’s suggestion to leave the bacon strips whole and arrange them in a star pattern. Another unique touch is to use a bit of potato starch as a binder instead of the flour used in most of the online recipes. It gives the pancake a special, subtle flavor that makes it stand out from all the other recipes involving eggs and bacon.

            According to the internet, most Danish bacon is leaner than American bacon and is sold in cans. When using American bacon, it’s a good idea to pour off about half of the fat from the skillet after cooking it. The egg mixture cooks in the bacon fat, but it doesn’t need the full amount. This is particularly true if you’re cooking the whole package and not just the six slices needed for the recipe. You may as well and have some extra to munch on, since everyone nearby will be drawn to the smell.

Flaeskeaeggekage - Danish bacon-egg pancake wedge
Can’t you just smell the bacon through the screen?

            Traditionally, the pancake is flavored with white pepper, sprinkled with chives, and served with buttered rye bread. Depending on what you have, black pepper, green onions, and regular toast with butter and jam are other good options. Such an easy, comfort food dish like this shouldn’t require an extra trip to the store.

            To make it, I simply combined six eggs, a quarter cup 2% milk, a tablespoon potato starch, and a bit of salt and pepper to taste. The omelet/pancake cooks in the still-hot bacon fat over low heat until the bottom starts to brown and the top is almost set. Then add the bacon strips in a star pattern, sprinkle with chives or scallions, and cover the pan to help it set completely. Slice into wedges and serve with toast or rye bread. As a main course, each “pancake” serves two people.

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