Masala Omelette

I often make omelettes for an emergency brunch because I always seem to have eggs in the fridge. This spicy version is great because it consists mostly of store cupboard ingredients, or at least ingredients I always have to hand. Plus, I love any recipe that includes turmeric – very good for you, apparently.

I first came across this dish on one of Nigella Lawson’s programmes. (This was before she started using bottled lime juice. For shame!) I scoured the Wife‘s vast collection of Nigella books but I couldn’t find the recipe, but I think this is fairly accurate.

Ingredients

• 5 eggs
• a little milk
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• 4 spring onions, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• salt & pepper

Method

1. Preheat your grill. This is for cooking the top of the omelette.
2. Beat the eggs in a bowl, season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. You could also add some finely chopped coriander at this point.
3. Heat a little oil in a frying-pan and fry the spring onions, garlic, tomatoes and chilli until the onions soften.
4. Add the ground spices to the onion and tomato mixture and fry for another minute.
5. Add the seasoned eggs to the pan and cook until the omelette has set on the bottom.
6. Finish off the top of the omelette under the grill.
7. Turn the omelette out onto a wooden board and serve with a little salad.

Serves 2.

Bacon, Cheese & Vegetable Frittata

Fry some bacon with the vegetable of your choice: onions, tomatoes, peppers, peas, garlic until coloured. Beat 2 eggs per person add plenty of seasoning, some dijon mustard and add to the pan. Fry until the frittata begins to set at the bottom, sprinkle some grated cheese on top, then transfer to the grill.