Mini Ham & Rocket Omelettes served with Balsamic Fig Jam

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balsamic figs, Balsamic Vinegar, Blogs, Brunch, Cape Town, Chefs, Clifton Kitchen, Cooking thorugh the seasons, Cooks, dinner, Easy Entertaining, Easy Meals, figs, food, Food Writing, Gruyère, Ham, In Season, ingredients, Kate Abbott, Light Lunch, lunch, Omelettes, Photography, recipes, Rocket, salad leaves, Salads, Serrano Ham

The versatile egg once again becomes a platform for a delicious light lunch, brunch or dinner. In this recipe the omelette is used as a wrap, stuffed with beautiful Serrano Ham and peppery salad leaves. It works equally well using chopped cooked prawns in a mild curry dressing. The combinations are up to your imagination. 

 

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 onion finely chopped (about 80g) or finely chopped spring onions white part only

Salt, a pinch

15ml olive oil

10g butter

2 extra-large eggs, gently beaten and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper

8 slices of Serrano Ham or the equivalent

A hand full of peppery salad leaves such as rocket or watercress gently tossed through a dressing of 15 ml of olive oil, a little lemon juice and a grinding of black pepper

4 thin slivers of gruyere cheese (optional)

Balsamic fig jam to serve (optional)

Method

Melt the olive oil and butter in a pan, add the chopped onion, season lightly with some salt and cook gently until softened and golden in colour. Set aside to cool slightly then add the softened onions to the beaten egg mixture.

Heat up the smallest frying pan you have, such as a one egg pan or a blini pan; add a drop or two of olive oil to the pan. Place a thin layer of the omelette mix in the pan and let cook over gentle heat until the egg mixture is almost set about 2 minutes, flip over and cook the other side for about 30 seconds. Remove and place the omelette on some grease proof paper while you continue to cook the rest.

To assemble

Place 2 slices of Serrano ham on one half side of the omelette cover with a thin slice of gruyere cheese and top with the salad leaves. Fold the other half of the omelette over the filling, giving a gentle squeeze to keep it together. Plate and serve with some balsamic fig jam.

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Ancient & Noble Fruits are In Season

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Blogs, Books, Cape Town, Chefs, Cook Books, Cooks, figs, food, Food Writing, Fruit and vegetables, Grapes, Herbs, In Season, Life, Photography, Sardines, Spices, Travel, travel Writing, Veal

In Season for February

Delicate and sweetly sensual, the fig is now in season; its arrival is one of the great pleasures of the long hot summer. Figs and grapes are considered to be ancient noble fruits. Most of the varieties grown locally in most gardens including my own, are the common green skinned variety, but there are also purple skinned varieties.

Once ripened the fig is extremely perishable and best consumed straight away or stored at the most for two to three days in the fridge.

Figs make a great salad when teamed with rocket leaves, torn basil and buffalo mozzarella, drizzled with a little aged balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. They also make wonderful accompaniments to many cheeses, poultry, and cured pork. They are also beautiful served as a dessert.

But today I am using the noble fruit in a beautiful salad.

Salad of Fig, Manchego Cheese & Walnuts, served with a Grape Dressing

Serves 6

Ingredients

110 g walnuts lightly roasted

100 g rocket

6 figs torn into chunks

120 g Manchego cheese, shaved

Dressing

½ tablespoons honey

1½ tablespoons good quality balsamic vinegar

2 shallots finely chopped

80 ml walnut or olive oil

200 g red or black grapes cut in half

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Method

For the dressing; whisk the honey, vinegar, chopped shallots and oil in a bowl to combine, then add the grapes and season to taste.

To assemble; toss the figs, rocket and walnuts together, then divide among the plates, and drizzle with the grape dressing, then scatter the Manchego cheese shavings over the top of each salad.

Also in season:

Fruits:

Avocado, bananas, Blackberries, figs, grapes, guavas, kiwifruit, lychees, mangoes, honeydew melons, rock melons, nectarines, oranges, passion fruit, peaches, plums, raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries, watermelon

Vegetables:

Beans, Borlotti beans, butter beans, capsicum, celery, chillies, cucumbers, eggplant, fennel, leeks, lettuce, okra, onions, peas, radishes, squash, sweet corn, tomatoes, zucchini

Herbs & Spices:

Basil, Chervil, Rocket,  Tarragon, Young ginger,

Fish & Meat:

Calamari, Sardines, Veal

Lunch For One–Lightly Poached Salmon Served With Fig & Raisin Chutney

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chutney, cooking, farmed salmon, figs, fish, food, home made bread, Olive oil, Oregano, organic, raisins, salmon, Seasoning, wine

Steel grey in colour the choppy waves capped with white foam, heave and churn wildly below my garden deck, it is as always quite an awesome site. It’s raining too and I am pleased that I shopped for food yesterday.

Tomatoes cut in half lightly drizzled with olive oil, topped with a smidge of Demerara sugar, a light sprinkle of Greek oregano and salt and pepper, are roasting off in the oven. It should take about an hour and half at 180C to reduce them to a concentrated richness. When done I put them in a pot, add some chicken stock, correct the seasoning and simmer for about 5 minutes then blend the lot together. Sometimes I will strain the soup, most times I prefer not to. By roasting the tomatoes you get a rich unctuous creamy textured soup yet it has no cream, served with some crusty homemade bread and a good bottle of wine it makes a perfect light dinner or a starter.

But for lunch; a nice piece of fresh farmed salmon seasoned and gently poached in about two table spoons of the fat, skimmed off the top of the stock from last night’s coq au vin, it adds another layer of subtle flavour. I serve the salmon with some fig and raisin chutney which compliments the fish beautifully.