Featuring Produce/Products From:
Mr. Brown and Town’s, West Tamar Fungi, Hillwood Fresh Food Co.
Red Cow Organics
Tamar Valley Pasteurised Eggs
Eden Garden Microfarm
I love omelette. Love it. I’ve served literally thousands and still love it. The French say omelette is the meal you can have for breakfast lunch or dinner. Chefs say it’s the failsafe test of one’s skills. Mothers say you’ll never go hungry if you can make yourself omelette. At least, mine does. The rich mushrooms and earthy cheese are a perfect combo in this take on the classic. Rub a thick piece of sourdough toast with a garlic clove, apply eye-watering amounts of butter, eat, and feel great about life.
Pro tip: Cooking the mushrooms in stages in this way preserves the integrity of their texture. It also gives the most cooking time to the varieties that can handle it, deepening these flavours while protecting the delicate flavours of the more exotic varieties. It produces an amazing flavour and texture profile that is balanced and harmonious, earthy, and fruity. In the spring, the new growth of thyme can be used in the same way as a soft herb, avoiding woody stems or tedious leaf picking!
Ragu
3 cloves of garlic
2 mid-sized brown onions
3 large brown (field) mushrooms
1 punnet of shiitake mushrooms
1 cluster of grey (or white) oyster mushrooms
1 small lion’s mane fungus
2 mid-sized wood-ear fungi
1 cluster of chestnut mushrooms
1 bunch of enoki mushrooms
Olive oil, butter, salt, pepper, spring thyme (new growth if available)
¼ cup of Italian parsley leaves,
Finely dice the brown onions and finely chop the garlic cloves
In a wide, heavy-based saucepan, on low heat, sauté the onions and garlic in approx. ¼ cup of olive oil and ½ tsp of salt until very tender and translucent.
Slice the field and shitake mushrooms, add to the pan, and increase the heat to med-high (we’re trying to cook the water from the mushrooms as quickly as possible, to avoid stewing them).
Add a knob of butter, and a little dash more olive oil if necessary
Dice the lion’s mane and simply shred the oyster mushrooms with your hands, add to the pot, continuing a med-high heat.
Cut the woody root ends from the wood-ears, enokis and chestnuts, finely chop the thyme
Once the mixture in the pan is cooked, and the water mostly cooked away, add the wood ears and chestnuts, the chopped thyme and season with pepper and a touch more salt if necessary.
Once the wood ears and chestnuts are cooked, add the enokis.
Stir well to homogenise the mixture, remove from the heat, and allow to stand, covered, for 5 minutes. The residual heat in the pan will cook the enokis
Finely chop the parsley, add to the mix and finish with another small knob of butter.
From here the ragu can be refrigerated until required, or you can stand it aside while you make your omelette
Omelette for 1
3 eggs
1 tbsp full-cream milk
1 tbsp water
Small knob of butter
¼ cup mushroom ragu, warmed
Apx 60 grams grated gruyere cheese
In a bowl combine the eggs, milk, and water, using a fork mix until homogenous
In an 18cm non-stick pan, on medium heat, melt the butter until foaming Add the egg mixture to the pan.
Wait until a thin layer has cooked on the bottom of the pan then, using a rubber spatula, drag the egg mixture from the edges to the center, releasing the uncooked mixture back onto the bottom of the pan, creating folds. Do this 2 or three more times, until the eggs are approximately 75% cooked, but there is still a layer of the raw mixture on top of the folds.
Turn the heat to low
Place the ragu mixture in a line across the center of the pan, sprinkle the grated gruyere onto the ragu mixture.
Using your spatula, fold the omelette over the mushrooms and cheese to produce a semi-circle.
Leave on the heat for 15 to 20 seconds, to finish cooking the eggs gently and melt the cheese.
Flip the finished omelette onto a plate, garnish with some pretty microgreens and serve immediately.
Happy cooking!
Rhys Hannan – Harvest’s Chef de Mission