Chorizo, manchego & rocket omelette

 
Oh lazy, lazy Sundays... time to sleep in, but also endless time to linger over breakfast. This omelette is a newcomer in our brunch repertoire - but has earned itself a permanent place right on top there, mingling with the likes of my indulgent ham & shitake oeufs en cocotte, the ever-popular eggs florendict, salmon & rocket omelette layer cake...

With its ingredients so decidedly Spanish, you'd be tempted to call this a Spanish omelette - but that would be confusing, of course. Probably the most popular dish of Spain, the tortilla has always confused me, actually... having lived in Mexico, I consider a tortilla to be a flat round of cornmeal - a staple I would consume for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as when I got the in-between munchies (ever tried to toast a corn tortilla on the open fire, spread it with mayo and cut some super ripe avocado in? A drizzle of lime and some chilli sauce and you have yourself the perfect snack indulgence... but I digress).

Even more confusing do I find the English "translation" of the Spanish tortilla: Spanish omelette. To me, an omelette is a couple of beaten eggs poured into a cast-iron pan, topped with whatever takes your fancy and cooked until just setting, then folded in half and served with crusty bread. A THIN layer of egg. Not a pan crowded with potatoes fried in olive oil with just enough egg to bind them together to form a sort of savoury cake.

So my recipe here is for a real omelette, but with Hispanic flavours - a few eggs topped with crispy chorizo, onion, leeks, chilli and some rocket. I like to keep my omelette slightly runny on top, just because I am an incorrigible mopper-upper of juices on my plate. A great weekend breakfast or brunch solution. Quick to put together and oh so satisfying...

Chorizo, manchego & rocket omelette
(serves 3-4)

6 large eggs
ca. 20 g butter
120 g chorizo
1 medium red onion
half a leek
1 red chilli (seeds and membranes removed)
100 g manchego (finely grated)
1 large handful rocket (arugula) leaves
black pepper

Take the skin off the chorizo (depending on type. I like to buy the deli-style chorizo you can easily eat on its own - which is a dryer version of chorizo than the one commonly used in cooking. If you happen to just find cooking chorizo, you might not have the need to or be able to peel yours)
Cut the into rounds of 2-3 mm thickness.

Heat a stainless-steel frying pan and cook the chorizo, without the addition of any oil as it will render its own fat. Peel and slice the onion to the same thickness as the sausage, roughly chop the leek and chilli. When the chorizo is starting to brown and crisp up, add the onion, leek and chilli. Fry until the onion turns translucent and softens. Transfer to a bowl and reserve - wipe the frying pan clean.

Beat the eggs with a fork.

Melt the butter in the frying pan*. Add the beaten eggs, top with the chorizo & onion mixture as well as the grated manchego and cook, over a medium heat, until the eggs are setting and the cheese hasmelted - I like to leave the omelettes just a little bit runny on top.

Scatter the rocket leaves on top, use a big spatula to fold the omelette over and carefully slide out onto a plate.

Grind some black pepper over it and serve with crusty bread on the side.

* I prefer to prepare individual omelettes in a smaller frying pan (ca. 15 cm diameter) - so I divide the ingredients into smaller portions accordingly. They cook really quickly, but if necessary, you could keep the finished omelettes in a warm oven until all are ready to serve.

Comments

[Kalyn]

This would have to have amazing flavor with those ingredients!

[maria. wagner]

Endlich kommt wieder ein Rezept von dir; meine Freundinnen fragten schon danach.
Super, werd ich ausprobieren.
bussi mama

[artdecoring]

good to see you posting again!

[Kit]

Then there is the Italian frittata to add to the omelette confusion, also a thick panful cut into wodges.

My mother taught me to cook French omelettes quite young. It was her no-fuss supper dish, usually with mushrooms or ham. SHe had a speciual omelette pan, that was never to be washed only wiped out between uses.

I like the sound of your fillings too - nice combining chorizo with rocket.

[Scott at RealEpicurean]

The humble omelette...but delicious!

[Vanessa Kimbell]

I made this for my husbands supper tonight - it was delicious !

[ecobabe]

Oh how I love Manchego cheese, I bought a slab the other day, it was $80 AUD a kilo, (which is approx $80 USD) Wish I could afford to buy it more often. Omelette sounds delicious.

[Ashley DeMazza]

My name is Ashley DeMazza. I live with the rest of the DeMazza family in Falls Village CT. This dish looks and sounds absolutely amazing! I know the DeMazza family would be the happiest on earth if I served this...thank you for sharing!

[Jeanne @ CookSister!]

Oh this has my name written all over it... All my favourite flavours i one dish! What a pity I no longer live close enough to come round for breakfast :((

[johanna]

Ill cook breakfast when I come in September, if you take care of the mimosas!

Sent from my iPad

[Adria]

Hi Johanna, I´m spanish and I will try to help you you as much as possible. In spain tortilla it´s diferent from mexican tortillas.
Spanish tortilla always are make with beating the eggs, you can preheat a pan with a spoon of olive oil and you put the beated eggs.
There are mani types depending the rest of ingredientes:
Tortilla Francesa: Made only with beated eggs as I mention.
Spanish Tortilla: Tortilla Española: cut potatoes in slim slices, fried on a pan with lot of oil, with low heat. when the potatoes are soft you can mix with the beated eggs and the put in the pan with a little bit of olive oil!.
And you can include lots of ingrdientes, onion, green pepper, chorizo, jam, cheese, crab, an many many other.....
Hope this shall be usefull!

[StillTraveller]

oooh you just gave me the inspiration i need for tomorrow's breakfast date!

[Su]

I cooked it and I loved it. Keep on posting delicious recipes like this

[Online Foods Menus]

This version of Omlette is really interesting. Cheers !!

[Ana Fernández]

This omelette is amazing, my mom usually cooks it, she uses asturian cheese though, from northern Spain, just have a look at this website, I´m sure you´ll find it really interesting, specially cheese lovers.
Kind regards
Ana
http://www.asturiascheese.com/spanish-cheese/leyrosa-ahumado-con-brezo-2