One of the best things to come of blogging for me has been the beautiful cookbooks I occasionally receive to review from Ten Speed Press. What a wonderful surprise to open my beat up mailbox and find a bulging brown envelope inside…an envelope filled with a cookbook that wasn’t necessarily on my radar…a cookbook I might fall in love with just moments later.
The truth is, I didn’t fall for with Very Fond of Food: A Year in Recipes
right away. I am not sure why: I was immediately smitten with the drawings and photos that grace many of the pages, yes, but the book and I needed to spend a bit of quality time together before I committed to cooking from it. Author Sophie Dahl (granddaughter of Roald Dahl, former model, and accomplished writer) wooed me with her intriguing stories and her creative and wholesome seasonal recipes, though. And when I found myself laughing out loud at one of her witty headnotes, I realized that I had, in fact, entered into a sweet little relationship with this book.
But what to cook first? I studied the chapter on Spring Lunches and considered the Hot Smoked Salmon Tacos and the Pea, Pesto, and Arugula Soup, yet ultimately decided to make something called Crespéou: a Provençal dish consisting of three stacked “open face” omelets.
I used eggs from my chickens.
I’m collecting so many each day lately so I was thrilled to use up 15 all in one shot. I suggest using the freshest eggs you can find for this recipe (and if you’re in my neck of the woods, give me a holler…I might be able to give you some of mine).
A couple of notes about the recipe: I swapped out the spinach for sorrel because I’ve got some in my garden right now, and I used basil instead of tarragon, and m mint patch has come alive so that’s what you see on top (along with some fresh thyme). Feel free to get creative with the fillings and/or the garnish, though- I’m of the opinion that pretty much anything goes when it comes to omelets. This is terrific when served the day after it’s made; leftover slices can be eaten on subsequent days and are perfect for rushed mornings.
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Sophie Dahl's Créspeou
Ingredients
- For the yellow omelet
- *5 eggs
- *1 tablespoon half and half
- *Salt and pepper
- *1 small onion peeled and finely chopped
- *A pinch of saffron
- For the green omelet
- *5 eggs
- *Salt and pepper
- *Olive oil
- *A handful of baby spinach
- *3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- *1/4 cup/25 grams grated Parmesan cheese
- For the red omelet
- *5 eggs
- *Salt and pepper
- *Olive oil
- *8 cherry tomatoes quartered
- *1/4 cup/25 grams crumbled soft goat cheese
- Chopped fresh soft herbs to garnish
Instructions
- 1. To make the yellow omelet, whisk the eggs with the half and half and season. Heat a splash of olive oil in a small to medium sized frying pan, add the onion, and to it the saffron. Stir and cook until the onion is translucent. Pour in the whisked eggs and cook until set. When the omelet is totally set, place the omelet on a plate.
- 2. To make the green omelet, whisk the eggs with the half and half and season. Heat the olive oil in the pan and add the spinach, tarragon, and parsley. Add the eggs and Parmesan and cook until set. Place on top of the yellow omelet.
- 3. To make the red omelet, whisk the eggs with the half and half and season. Heat a splash of olive oil in the pan. Saute the tomatoes for a minute or so, moving them around with a spatula, and then add the eggs. Add the goat cheese and cook until set. Place on top of the green omelet.
- 4. Wrap the three stacked omelets in waxed paper and then wrap in a layer of foil, pressing them down. Refrigerate overnight and unwrap just before serving with more chopped herbs thrown on top. Cut as you would a cake and serve with a green salad.
