I always return to my eternally favorite food: eggs. I rarely make omelets, however I now have a new favorite weekend breakfast. This open-face omelet is so easy to prepare and very delicious. I had never tried escarole before and initially thought I might not be able to find it for this recipe. Mana Foods, my favorite market in Paia, has almost every type of vegetable and fruit you can imagine, but they didn’t have any. I tried Whole Foods as well, but our store on Maui is quite small with a limited selection. I was quite surprised to find it at Safeway. Recently Safeway in Kihei upgraded their produce section and it’s a considerable improvement from what they offered a year ago.
Escarole is a gorgeous green, belonging to the endive family. It’s definitely not as bitter, and is very good tossed with other salad greens. Each head of escarole has a pretty mix of bright and pale colored leaves.
A bit of feta and spicy jalapeños make this dish stand out. The recipe calls for za’atar, a Middle Eastern spice blend typically consisting of sesame seeds, sumac, thyme, oregano, marjoram and salt. I had purchased a jar in Napa at the Whole Spice shop (they spell it zahtar) and it sat in my refrigerator waiting to be used. If you can’t find za’atar at your local market, the recipe says to combine 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds with 1 teaspoon of dried oregano.
Open-Face Omelets with Spicy Feta and Escarole
Adapted from Food & Wine Magazine
Serves 2
Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons za’atar (or 1 teaspoon sesame seeds and 1 teaspoon dried oregano)
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (I love Mt. Vikos sheep and goat’s milk feta. It’s mild and creamy and not too salty)
1 scallion, white part only, finely chopped
2 jalapeño nacho rings (you may use more if you prefer, or fresh jalapeño to taste)
3 extra-large eggs
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups shredded escarole
pepper
Preparation
In a small bowl, mix the za’atar with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Set aside.
In another bowl, mash the feta, scallion and jalapeño with 2 – 3 teaspoons of water until smooth.
In a small non-stick skillet (9 – 10-inch works well) heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil. In a 2-cup measuring cup, beat the eggs with the flour, salt and 1 tablespoon of water (it’s OK if a few lumps remain). Pour half the mixture into the skillet and swirl the pan to form a thin omelet. Sprinkle half the escarole and half the feta mixture evenly over the eggs; cook over moderately low heat until the escarole starts to wilt, the feta melts and the omelet is just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Slide onto a plate and season with pepper. Repeat with the remaining oil, eggs, escarole and feta mixture.
Drizzle za’atar oil over the omelet and serve. Side of bacon please!