Tomato Omelette

What are the differences between omelette, frittata and kuku?

Omelette is a dish made from beaten eggs, quickly cooked with butter/oil in a frying pan, sometimes folded around a filling such as cheese, vegetables, meat(s), or combination of. To obtain a fluffy texture, whole eggs (or egg whites only) are beaten with a small amount of water/milk/cream (to create bubbles of liquid vapor for the rapidly cooked egg(s) and make the omelette light/fluffy.

The French word omelette came into use during the mid-16th century, but the versions alumelle and alumete were employed by the Ménagier de Paris in 1393. The modern omelette appears in Cuisine bourgoise (1784).

According to the founding legend of the annual giant Easter omelette of Bessières, Haute-Garonne, when Napoleon Bonaparte and his army were traveling through southern France, they decided to rest for the night near the town of Bessières. Napoleon feasted on an omelette prepared by a local innkeeper that was such a culinary delight that he ordered the townspeople to gather all the eggs in the village and to prepare a huge omelette for his army the next day.

Frittata is an egg-based dish similar to an omelette or quiche, enriched with additional ingredients such as meats, cheeses, vegetables… may be flavored with herbs. Eggs are beaten vigorously to incorporate more air than traditional savory omelettes, to allow a deeper filling and a fluffier result. The mixture is cooked over a very low heat, more slowly than an omelette, for at least 5~15 minutes, until the underside is set but the top is still runny. The partly cooked frittata is then baked for around 5~ more minutes. Unlike an omelette, which is generally served whole to a single diner, a frittata is usually divided into slices. It may be served as main or side.

Kuku is a Persian dish similar to or an open-faced omelette. Iranians make many different types of kukus with a variety of flavorings. By comparison with frittata or omelette, kuku recipes use a smaller proportion of eggs to bind larger amounts of other ingredients, have spices instead of cheese and are cooked on a stove on low heat or baked in the oven. There are different types of kuku such as kuku-ye sabzi (herb kuku, the most popular), kuku-ye sibzamini (potato kuku) or other vegetable such as zucchini.

– [Source/excerpts from Wikipedia]

I shall introduce varieties of  frittata,  kuku  and what the Japanese call
omuretsu / omuraisu (o-mu-ra-i-su  オムライス) in my future posts.

Are you thinking of a simple meal for a busy day?

Tomato Omelette

Tomato Omelette

2 medium tomatoes
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
4~5 eggs
1/8 tsp turmeric
salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp caramelized onions (optional)

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-  Cut the tomatoes in 8 wedges each.

-  In a medium bowl using a fork, beat the eggs until thoroughly beaten.

-  On stove, on medium heat, melt butter in a medium size, non-stick frying pan (which has a lid).

-  Layer the cut tomatoes to fill the pan. When the tomato sweats and starts boiling, add salt, pepper and turmeric sparingly. Using heat resistant silicone spatula, stir gently between the tomato wedges.

-  Spread crispy caramelized onion sparingly.

-  Pour the beaten eggs in a circular pattern to cover tomatoes in the pan. As the eggs harden at the rim of the pan, push them slightly inward to allow soft eggs to flow to the rim… until the egg mixture is half cooked.
Bring the heat to medium-low to low, put a lid on and let it cook until no more soft egg is in the center. (Best when not over-cooked.)

-  Serve with green salad and fresh cut baguette!

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Bon Appétit!

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