I think eggs are one of the most versatile, yet under appreciated ingredients in our arsenal as cooks. From the simple fried egg on toast, to luxurious sauces and emulsions like hollandaise and mayonnaise, cakes, pastries etc, I simply don’t want to imagine a life without eggs.
Well, today is World Egg Day and to celebrate, members of the SA Poultry Association got a few of us foodie friends together to see what we can do with the humble egg. Our task was to cook our favourite omelette, with a bit of flair of course.
I was invited to this “eggcellent” cook-off by my friend Errieda du Toit aka Huiskok, along with blogger Anel Potgieter and chef Nic van Wyk.
One of my favourite ways to use eggs – and favourite things to eat for that matter – is a good authentic Spaghetti Carbonara. It shows how 4 simple ingredients like Eggs, Bacon, Cheese and Pasta can be transformed into something truly amazing. So when I started thinking about what kind of omelette I was going to prepare, the bright spark hit me.
I often find myself with some leftover spaghetti from the night before, so why not use that to make a Carbonara Omellete! I wasn’t so sure if it was going to work to be honest, but I decided to just wing it and see what happens. I must admit it worked out rather well, and I will definitely be making more of these in the future. I may just start cooking too much spaghetti on purpose from now on…
Because this omelette was “designed” to use leftovers, I’m not going to give you an exact recipe here, just sort of a general “how to guide”.
Ingredients
- A generous handful of bacon – I used Guanciale. You can use Pancetta or normal bacon if you can’t find any
- A cup or so (more is always better) of grated Pecorino cheese, Parmesan will also work well
- Three eggs
- A handful of cooked spaghetti
Method
Cut the Guanciale in thin strips and cook over medium low heat until most of the the fat has rendered out and the bacon turns crispy. Don’t try to rush this and turn the heat up too much, the bacon will burn and not go nice and crispy.
Pour out some of the fat into a receptacle of some kind, and use later for other stuff, like roast potatoes and the like. Also put half of the bacon aside to use as the filling.
Chuck in the spaghetti and warm up with the bacon in the pan. Shake things around a bit, you want it spread evenly in the pan, and not all lumped to one side.
Mix half of the cheese with the eggs, whisk well, and pour over the spaghetti in the pan.
Now comes the “trick” to making an omellete. People often have issues with it being over or undercooked. While the eggs are still runny, use a wooden spoon or spatula and keep dragging the contents of the pan to the centre, which will create “holes” in the omellete. These you fix by shaking things around again, allowing the more runny bits of egg to cover those holes and also get a chance to cook. This may look like a buggerup at first, but it will be fine I assure you, as long as the eggs ares still runny enough. You can only do this for the first 30 second or so, as it will become hard to cover the holes once the omellete starts setting.
At this stage you can add your filling, which would be the rest of the bacon and cheese. Season with salt and lots of black pepper. Easy on the salt though, as the Pecorino and Guanciale are both fairly salty already.
Let this cook for another two minutes or so on medium heat and gently fold over the omellete.
If you want more colour on your omellete, a trick is to add some more butter to the pan after you folded it over, make sure that the butter gets “under” the omelette, and turn up the heat slightly. This will help it get a nice golden brown colour on the bottom, so when you serve just make sure you serve it browned side up ;)
You can read Errieda’s post about the day here, and Anel’s here.
*Big thanks to Roxy Laker and Errieda du Toit for the photos, as I cleverly forgot my camera at home!
Win a Kenwood Stick Blender!
To help spread the love of World Egg Day, the folks of the SA Poultry Association are giving away these rad, egg-yolk yellow Kenwood K-Mix Triblade stick blenders. To get your hands on one, leave a comment on this blog post and tell me what is your favourite way to cook eggs.
The winner will be chose by random draw, entries close on Monday 14 October 2013 at 13:00 and the winner will be announced at 16:00.
**The competition is now closed, congratulations to LINDI SCHWELLA on winning this awesome prize**
Since i’ve tasted Scotch Eggs at Taste of Cape Town earlier in the year, i’m making it once a month as a Saturday morning treat. Here is my recipe.
4 xtra large free range eggs (hardboiled for 5mins and peeled)
100 ml selfraising flour
1 packet pork sausage
30 ml thyme (chopped)
breadcrumbs (or a slice of bread blitzed to form crumbs)
1 egg (beaten)
salt+pepper for seasoning
Dust the eggs in the flour. Remove casing from sausage and place in a bowl. Add the thyme and seasoning and mix well with a fork. Devide the meat into 4 portions and roll into balls. Place the balls on a sheets of clingfilm and press into flattened discs with your fingers (you can wet your fingers with water to prevent the meat from sticking). Place an egg on each disc and then pull the clingfilm up and around to mould the meat around the eggs. Remove the clingfilm and then shape the meatballs to ensure all air holes have been closed. Roll the meatballs in the beaten egg and then cover with breadcrumbs and deepfry in oil for 6-8 mins. until cooked through and crispy. Slice through the Scotch Eggs and serve with generous dollops of peri peri mayo.
Great idee Fritz. Dink ek gaan sommer nog die naweek die een probeer! Daar is mos nou toevallig nog pasta oor in die yskas van gister aand!! Ek het lank gedink oor wat my favourite manier is hoe die “humble” eier te gebruik…..en ek kan nie besluit nie…of wag ek kan! En aangesien my gunsteling maaltyd van die dag breakfast is…..
My gunsteling eier gereg is….A TRIO OF EGG!
1 x Eggs Benedict
1 x French Toast with Maple Syrup (Added chopped red chillies in egg mix of course)
1 x Scramble Eggs (lots of butter) with smoked salmon on toast
Sit natuurlik bacon by….as jy soos ek ‘n gesonde eetlus het!
A light & fluffy cheese soufflé, generously flavoured of course.
I am absolutely obsessed with poached eggs, but have no luck with making them by breaking the egg into swirling water. Then one day I was watching a cooking show, and the guy broke an egg into a cling film lined tea cup and tied the egg into a cling film parcel. This is how I poach eggs now, and you are guaranteed success every time, and no cloudy egg water.
Poached egg with crispy bacon on a fresh croissant. Yes please!
One of our favourite suppers at home are bacon and eggs on fresh white rolls with the bacon very crispy and the yolks of the fried egg nice and runny but blah blah blah I just want to win the bloody stick blender. PLEASE!?
Eggs Benedict – no doubt of a bernaise sous met ‘n heerlike mature rib eye. Hell hollandaise saam met enige iets!
There is only one way to do eggs for breakfast, that is boiled, fried, poached, scrambled, coddled with a bacon sarmie. Fresh white bread, well buttered, 8 slices of bacon, four one way, four the other, two fried eggs, soft yolks, sea salt and freshly milled black pepper and a dash of Worcestershire Sauce on each egg. And mind your fresh white shirt for the popping egg yolks!
Shakshuka
Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
1 tin peeled, chopped tomatoes
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 chilli, chopped (deseeded if need be)
6 eggs
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 handful parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Fry the onions in some olive oil add the tomatoes abd cook off the raw taste. Add the peppera. Once soft, make little wells in the sauce and break eggs into the wells. Cover and allow to steam until eggs are almost done to preference. Uncover and add garlic and parsley. Cook for a moment longer. Serve with warm crusty bread.
EGGS IN AMAZING HOLES are the best!
– egg in a (bread)basket
– egg in tomato
– egg in an onion ring
– egg wrapped in bacon (muffin tray style)
– egg in avo
– egg in a potato
– egg in a pepper
– egg in an eggplant
or just beautiful, light and fluffy scrambled eggs
Being a bachelor, I don’t have time for fancy smancy egg recipes so I would have to say The Omelette is the way to get your eggs in.. Here are some of my favorite fillings:
Smoked ham and cream cheese
Green, red and yellow peppers, olives and feta chees aka Rainbow Omelette (FAV)
Bacon, mushrooms and mozzarella aka The Pizza Omelette
Thanks
Simple eggs and soldiers. There is no better way to start, or end, the day.
That looks yum dude!
Best way for me is poached in cling film, add a dash of balsamic vinegar on top to cut the richness, and then loads of bacon ;)
Eggs form a big part of my low carb diet and I try to incorporate them into as many meals as possible. My favourite thing to do at the moment is make a massive fritatta, loaded with awesome fillings, so that I have left overs for lunch the next day.
The last one I made consisted of crispy pancetta, mushrooms, danish feta, spinach and chilli. It is sometimes even tastier served cold the next day!
I don’t have a favourite way to cook eggs. All I know is that they do not last long in my house.
I buy 2 and a half dozen at a time.
Nothing beats an Eggs Benedict, when done perfectly of course :)
My favourite way to eat eggs is poached, but I have yet to master the technique myself. When I’m cooking at home I love to make fritatta, it’s a great way to use up all the odd bits lurking in the fridge.
I love boiled eggs with feta cheese and parsley.
FRENCH TOAST! FRENCH TOAST! FRENCH TOAST!
French Toast with baked camembert and roasted tomatoes
French Toast with honey and strawberries and bacon
French toast with cinnamon and maple syrup
lots of lots of French toast combinations equals a happy breakfast eater!
Dit is nou nie ‘n “manier om eiers te kook nie” maar eiers is ‘n groot deel van die resep. En dit is creme brulee. Daai gooey binnekant met die harde suiker lagie mmmm yummy!
Nothing beats Gordon Ramsay’s scrambled eggs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUP7U5vTMM0
And this Kenwood K-Mix Triblade stick blender will ensure that you are able to keep stirring and create perfect fluffy eggs every time with no fuss.
Love your spaghetti omelette – I also often make extra spaghetti for omelettes, but usually make them Italian frittata style, with plenty of parmesan and some chopped herbs along with the spaghetti and bacon.
Spanish omelette!
Poached served with steamed asparagus and covered with Parmesan, or poached in a arrabiata style sauce on toast. When you get great eggs there is no need to much about with emulsions and the like the egg will speak for itself (though I do love a good hollandaise)