Mushroom, Spinach and Tomato Omelette

Introduction

This is a quick and simple cheese-free omelette. The recipe makes enough for two people, but you may also need a starter, side salad or some garlic bread.

Ingredients

• 1 Clove of garlic, chopped.
• 1/2 red onion, chopped (medium).
• 1 Large bag of spinach leaves.
• A good handful of closed-cup mushrooms, sliced. Go for something flavoursome.
• Sherry, or a suitable substitute.
• 2 tomatoes. Remove the woody cores and chop each one into 24 pieces.
• 6 fresh medium free-range eggs. Supermarket eggs that have sat in your fridge for a week are not fresh — egg tastes so much better when fresh. Beat the eggs with a little salt, ground black pepper and mixed herbs.

Method

1. It is useful to prepare all the ingredients before starting to cook.
2. Heat some sunflower oil in a large frying-pan with until it is hot enough to fry the onion (put a piece of the onion in the oil — it’ll start hissing when the oil’s hot enough).
3. Reduce to a medium heat and add the onion and the garlic, stirring frequently until the onion is pretty much cooked (but now browned).
4. Add the mushrooms. After they have cooked a little and the pan is starting to dry up, add some sherry.
5. If you are cooking with an electric cooker, turn on the grill — a reasonable heat, but not enough to dry the egg out. We’ll use the grill later to cook the top of the omelette.
6. Now add the spinach. It will reduce in volume dramatically, so keep adding it until you’ve got a good mix of spinach to the other vegetables.
7. Adjust the heat of the hob so that when the egg is added it will cook slowly and won’t dry out.
8. Add the tomato.
9. Make sure that the vegetables are distributed over the pan. Pour the egg over the vegetables evenly. Kill off any bubbles with a fork.
10. When the egg is cooked on the bottom and in the middle, move the pan under the grill to cook the top (make sure there is no plastic handle that will melt!).
11. When the top of the omelette is cooked, remove from the heat.
12. Force the omelette away from the edge of the pan with a spoon or palette knife. Cut the omelette in quarters in the pan (this allows you to prevent the omelette falling apart when you lift it out of the pan — pizza cutters are good for this!). Give each person two quarters and put some salad or other decoration on the plate if you’re being poncey.