Fried Sage Omelet

First, a garden update..things are starting to happen in the garden and it is making me very happy. As you can see in my header, the romaine lettuce is looking beautiful, and I used the first head to make a Greek salad with dinner the other night. The rhubarb is getting huge. I am not sure when to harvest it, but am trying to hold off so I can use it with the strawberries. A very cheerful sight in the garden are the strawberry blossoms. We are a few weeks behind because of the cold spring, but here they are, aren’t they beautiful?

The tomato plants are looking healthy as are 2 of the 3 cucumber plantings. I am not sure what is going on with the third mound. This weekend I will add a couple more tomatoes, eggplants and plant seed for okra and green beans. I love my garden!

The sage in my herb garden is looking old and leggy, so I bought a new baby plant to replace it. It is still sitting in my kitchen window, I am getting too much pleasure looking at it each day. But it will likely move to the garden this weekend as well.

But, while it is so close by, I figured I would pick a few leaves to use in an omelet with Farmer Kim’s eggs. A flavorful omelet with just a few ingredients, the only other things needed are gruyere cheese, some salt and pepper for seasoning, and canola oil and butter for cooking.

Typically I try to make a large omelet to feed more than one person; that does not work well for having a pretty omelet. So tonight I was patient and made each omelet individually and, voila!, they look like real omelets! And they taste yummy!

Fried Sage Omelet

from Food Network Magazine, with my notes

For each omelet:

1 Tbsp canola oil

8 to 10 small fresh sage leaves, to taste (from the garden – or window sill)

Kosher salt

3 large eggs (from Farmer Kim)

1 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 to 1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese (it would also be very good with an aged cheddar)

Directions

Fry the sage leaves: Heat a small non-stick skillet over high heat and add the oil. Have a tray lined with paper towels and a slotted spoon ready. When the oil begins to look thinner and spreads to the sides of the pan, turnoff the heat and add the sage leaves. Stir them to caot with oil and cook, stirring, until the sage pales slightly in color and gets slightly crisp, 45 seconds to 1 1/2 minutes. Use the slotted spoon to transfer the leaves to the paper towels. Season immediately with salt and allow to cool. Reserve the skillet.

Blend the eggs: In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, 1 tsp water and 1/4 tsp salt.Whisk only enough to integrate the eggs;you don’t want to whip too much air into them or make them frothy.

Cook the omelet: Return the skillet to medium heat. Remove the excess oil and add the butter, swirling it as it melts so it coats the pan. When the butter is melted, reduce the heat to medium-low and pour in the egg mixture. Use a fork to stir the eggs slightly, as if you were about to make scrambled eggs. Then allow to cook, undisturbed, until they start setting in the middle. Sprinkle the cheese and sage leaves over them. Cook until the eggs look almost fully cooked and only slightly loose, 1 to 2 minutes. (For making additional omelets, you may not need to add more butter, I made two omelets easily with the 1 Tbsp butter).

Serve the omelet: Lift the handle of the pan, tilting the pan away from you and towards the heat. The omelet should slide down the pan a little. Using a spatula, fold the edge closest to you toward the center. Fold the other edge in toward the center and invert the pan over the center of a plate so the omelet lands seam-side down. Season with pepper. Serve and enjoy!

Makes 1 omelet