Veggies for breakfast? Absolutely! They are a great way to use up any that you may have leftover from making other dishes like soups. Many recipes call for either a pound of this or a cup of that but not a lot of veggies come grown to those exact measurements so use what you need to make your soup, stew, casserole or other dish and save the rest for this Western-inspired veggie omelet.  Western omelets generally have lots of peppers, onions, ham and cheese, but we leave out the ham and cheese; you, of course, don’t have to.

Omelets are great in that you can really use any vegetable, greens, or herbs in making them.

Preparation Time:  10 minutes (to dice the veggies)

Cooking Time:  20 minutes (10 minutes to caramelize the eggplant, 5 minutes to saute the peppers and onions, and 5 minutes to cook the omelet)

Serves:  2-4 (will depend on how many eggs each wants in their omelet)

Ingredients:

• 8-9 farm fresh eggs (these are from our friends Tim and Chelsea Clarkson of Grove Ladder Farm in Sarasota, Florida. Their hens are pasture-raised, hormone and antibiotic-free.)
• 1 cup uncooked eggplant small dice (about 1/4 inch cubes)
  • Will yield about 1/2 cup cooked eggplant
• 1/2 cup red onion small dice
• 1 /2 cup red and yellow sweet Italian peppers small dice
  • Bell peppers, cubanelles, or sweet minis are also great in omelets
• 1/4 cup poblano peppers, seeds and internal white membranes removed (or not), small dice.
  • We add these for just a hint of heat
• 1 scallion sliced on the diagonal (for garnish)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, for each omelet made
• Kosher salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste

Preparation:

• If you are using leftover veggies, simply dice them into 1/4 inch cubes; set aside.
• If you are using whole veggies, wash and cut what you need, which will be about 1/4 of a globe eggplant, 1/2 of a medium red onion, 1/2 of a red and yellow sweet Italian peppers, 1/2 of a poblano pepper; dice into 1/4 inch cubes; set aside.
• Caramelize the diced eggplants in 1 tbsp evoo, cook until they have nice caramelized color (about 10 minutes), season with a pinch of kosher salt and a couple twists of a pepper mill; set aside.
• Saute the rest of the veggies in 2 tbsp olive oil, season with kosher salt and black pepper; set aside. You want the veggies to be just soft; about 5 minutes; set aside.
• Optional but recommended step when making multiple omelets:
  • Set aside the same number of small soup bowls as you have diners who want an omelet.
  • Crack the number of eggs each diner wants in their omelet and scramble each.
  • Set them aside but remember which ones have which number of eggs in them.
  • Use each bowl as you make each person’s omelet to order.  You may want to have other ingredients that they may want or like available, such as greens, diced ham or cheese.
    • Note:  Greens like arugula, spinach, mizuna, dandelion leaves or kale are also great in omelets but they can be watery if used fresh so saute them lightly before adding to your omelet.

Cooking:

• Place a large non-stick saute pan on a burner set to medium heat, wait a minute or two for the pan to heat up then add 1 tbsp evoo (per omelet), wait another minute for the oil to heat up.  Pour the eggs from the first bowl into the pan, mix briskly with a heat resistant plastic spatula until you the eggs just start to cook and change color, stop mixing and allow the eggs to cook further.
• When no longer runny add a tbsp or two of the pepper and onion mixture, one tbsp of caramelized eggplants in a line in the center of the omlet, and any other ingredient at this time (ham or cheese) if desired.
• Gently and carefully fold over one side of the omelet over the center, then the other side of the omelet over that.  This is what’s known as a “tri-fold” omelet and is classic French technique.
• The other way more common in the U.S. is to place the veggies in a line a little left of the center of the omelet, then fold over the omelet to form a half-circle.
• Gently flip over the folded omelet, cook for another minute, then serve.
• Your Western-style veggie omelet is ready!
• Garnish with fresh orange wedges (or other fruit) and fresh or sauteed cherry tomatoes.

Enjoy!