Arugula Omelette with Bread Crumbs
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Heres the thing of it; I only buy really good bread. Out of principle. Heres the other thing of it; good bread is only good for a day. Heres the other thing of it; there are only 2 people in my household so it’s hard to go through a whole baguette, or a full of sourdough loaf. (note, if Nutella is involved it is not hard to go through a whole baguette.)
So I’m always looking for excuses to use stale bread. Someone told me recently that in Italy breadcrumbs are poor mans cheese, which got me thinking. The friend who told me this had just made braised leeks and sprinkled breadcrumbs that she had sauteed in olive oil with garlic and rosemary and it was a killer dish. The sort of elegant dish Italian peasants have made for the last 300 years. So when I got home that night I busted out my food processor and made great use of the day old bread that always seems to be sitting in my bread box. And then I went to bed because it was late and I had already eaten dinner.
The next morning though I woke Jordan up with omelettes, just simple ham and arugula omelettes but I sprinkled breadcrumbs on the top and they were suddenly these elevated into something much more interesting. The crispness, the toasted flavour, the spike of rosemary, it was a glorious combination that, because I had already made the breadcrumbs, it was a no brainer painfully easy addition. Which is exactly what I want in my breakfasts.
Breadcrumbs
At least 2 cups of stale bread diced into cubes
1 tsp chopped Rosemary
1 tbsp chopped Parsley
2 clove Garlic
Zest of 1 lemon
A glug of Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Omelettes
4 Eggs
1 tbsp chopped Parsley
a Handful of Arugula
50g Ham or Porketta, thinly sliced.
2 tbsp Grated Parm, Romano, or Fruitlano.
2 tsp Butter
Salt and Pepper
In a food processor pulse breadcrumbs until they are crushed but not powdery. You want to be able to bite into them still.
In a frying pan over medium-low heat warm up the olive oil.
Add in the breadcrumbs and stir until they start to get toasty.
Add in the garlic and rosemary and keep stirring until the garlic gets fragrant and the breadcrumbs have become a nice toasty brown.
Add in the salt the zest and the parsley and set aside.
Mix 2 eggs in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Add the salt, pepper and parsley and mix again.
In a small frying pan over medium heat (your life will be easier if this is a non stick pan. If you don’t use non stick- I don’t- just make sure the pan is sparkling clean) warm up a teaspoon of the butter.
Pour the eggs in and using a wooden spoon or a spatula mix the eggs as the cook until there are some scrambled pieces but they are all connected by the uncooked eggs.
Using your spatula spread the eggs out into a thin layer and let them firm up.
Once the top is beginning to set flip the omelette- use a rubber spatula to lift the edges and then with a quick flick of the wrist flip it.*
Let it cook for another 30 seconds. Sprinkle with the grated cheese, and then layer on the ham and arugula. Fold the omelette onto itself and slide it onto a plate.
Dust the top generously with the bread crumbs.
*If your not comfortable flipping the omelette you can just let it cook all the way on the one side and then fold the whole thing in half at the end. ALTHOUGH Julia Child recommends practising the flipping motion with a pan with a handful of dried beans, and who am I to argue with Julia Child.
