Last week it was cold. We had snow and sleet and wind. Life in a snow globe which, surprisingly, is not very common for Shetland despite how far North we are. With the chill outside it was time to inject a bit of heat into a frosty morning with an omelet with steamed greens and charred tomato salsa!
I’ve been on a bit of a mission lately to try and come up with some veg based breakfasts. My normal morning fair tends to center around grains in the form of porridge or granola, yogurt and fruit. That’s all a good and well balanced start to the day, but it would be nice to have a more savoury breakfast once in a while that’s loaded with veggies instead of fruit.
Omelets are a fantastic option. Eggs are loaded with high quality protein, and are packed full of nutrients including B vitamins, vitamins D, K, E, and A, and are a valuable source of selenium, phosphorus, zinc and calcium. And in omelet form you can fold any filling into them that you’d like… such as steamed greens!
Years ago I heard that the key to making a really good omelet is to add a splash of water to the eggs before putting them in the pan. As the omelet cooks, the water evaporates creating steam within the eggs making them beautiful and light and fluffy. This simple tip really does make a world of difference. If you add a bit of water your omelet will be much lighter.
So that’s the omelet part, but the icing on the cake of this dish really is the charred tomato salsa. I first came across this idea in a recipe by John Torode. Charring the tomatoes before adding them to the recipe gives a beautiful smoky flavour to your salsa. In my version I added a couple of chipotle peppers to the mix for a bit of added smokiness. The resulting salsa is fiery and delicious. Of course if you want a milder version you could omit the chipotle and add a bit of smoked paprika, and also cut out some of the chilies.
Serving this greens filled omelet with a healthy scoop of the salsa, adds a load more veggie nutrition to your dish, and really complements the flavour, and you’ll have left over salsa to serve with some raw veggies or crackers later too!
An omelet with steamed greens and charred tomato salsa would be glorious at any time of the day. I made it for breakfast, and it was the perfect thing to fire me up on a cold day. I hope it will fire your day up too!
- 6 tomatoes
- 1 chipotle pepper, finely chopped and soaked 15 min in 1Tbsp hot water
- 2 green finger chilies de-seeded and finely chopped
- 2 spring onions, chopped
- Juice of half a lemon or lime
- A good pinch of sea salt
- A small handful of fresh coriander, chopped
- 2 eggs beaten with 2 tsp water
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- Pinch of salt
- About 1 1/2 cups of spinach, kale, or a mix of greens, sliced
- To make the salsa, turn on the grill in your oven to medium-high and set one of the oven shelves to the highest or second highest position.
- Put the tomatoes on a shallow roasting tin and, once the grill is hot, place them in the oven on the high shelf. Leave them to grill until charred on the top, about 5 minutes, and then flip them over. Repeat until they’re fairly charred on all sides. Remove from the oven and leave them to cool in their tin until they’ve come down to room temperature.
- Once the tomatoes are cool, remove the peels (they should slide off easily) and chop the tomatoes finely, reserving their juices and the juices from the roasting tin.
- In a medium bowl combine the chopped tomatoes and all their juices, the chipotle with its soaking water, and the remaining ingredients. Mix well until evenly combined. Store in an airtight container until ready to use. It should last in the fridge for about a week.
- For the omelet, place the greens in the top of a steamer over simmering water. Cover and allow it to cook for 5-10 minutes until the veggies are bright green and tender.
- Meanwhile, in a heavy frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat.
- Beat the eggs, water and salt together until fairly pale.
- Once the oil is hot pour in the eggs and let them cook for about 30 seconds and then gently push back the edges to allow the runny egg to flow past the cooked part onto the pan. Repeat this a few times and then let the omelet cook for a few minutes until it’s set and golden brown on the bottom.
- Place the greens on top of the cooked omelet and fold the egg in half over them. Carefully tip the folded omelet out onto a plate and serve immediately with a large scoop of the salsa.