A quickie about a specific omelette

"the salty sharpness contrasts exquisitely with the rich fattiness of the eggs; against which too, the fresh hit of mint is positively exhilarating." Nigella Lawson

Nigella is talking about what she (and lots of others) call a Corsican omelette - or Frittata incu a menta (e brocciu), as it's called in Corsica. Of course like those of us who live nowhere near Corsica, or even France and can therefore not obtain brocciu cheese, we will not be able to make the dish in an authentic way. We shall have to substitute. Nigella who was remembering what she says is 'the world's best omelette' - which you have to say is quite a claim - and seventeen years before the recipe's publication - did say:

"I'm not pretending that you can get brocciu here, but that hasn't ever stopped me making it; I just use that goat's cheese - chèvre - that comes in a log, and which is incredibly easy to come by."

Why am I talking about this? Well it's a lucky dip from her book Forever Summer.

As wth many lucky dips I almost didn't stick to my rule of absolutely adhering to talking about something on the random page I picked out, and I still don't think there is a lot to say about it, but nevertheless i will adhere - and here is what I have.

First of all - that cheese. As you can see from the photograph it's very similar to ricotta in that it is made from boiled whey to which milk is added, mixed and then strained. The milk however is traditionally sheep's milk and so therefore a bit sharper than ricotta. But Nigella and lots of others also say you can use ricotta - if you can't get goat's cheese, which they all seem to think is a more suitable substitute because it's sharper. Somebody suggested feta but then admitted that was probably a step too far, as it would then be Greek. Personally I think the goat's cheese suggestion is a good one, and it's easy to obtain here now.

Corsica is French but was once Italian, so presents an interesting blend of those two cuisines. This particular omelette is a case in point - because of the mint - which the Corsicans love and also because this is one of those flat omelettes - you cook one side, and then flip it over although the centre should still be somewhat runny - or baveuse as the French would say.

You first cook most of the shredded mint in butter, pour in the beaten, seasoned eggs, crumble in the cheese, cook for a bit, then turn over (slide on to a plate and then flip it back in the pan). Sprinkle with the rest of the mint and it's done - dinner. With a salad perhaps and Elizabeth David's glass of wine.

Having described that method - and most of the other recipes that I viewed did it that way, I now see that Nigella does it a bit differently:

"When the top of the omelette looks nearly set, but still gooey, fold into three lengthways - in other words, fold in two sides, leaving a strip of white blobbed omelette facing up in a strip in the middle - and slide on to a plate. Sprinkle with the reserved mint and eat."

Up to you really unless you worry about authenticity.

And really there is nothing more to say, other than to comment that Nigella - being Nigella - has managed to bring this very local dish to the world's attention, so much so that half of the recipes I found were actually Nigella's like this Corsican Omelette from The Domestic Front - although this lady added Herbes de Provence to the egg mixture - because her mother did. And she finished hers off under the grill.

Two more to compare: Corsican mint omelette (Omelette à la menthe) - Crazy About Macarons - a lady with a Corsican mother-in-law and Omelette au brocciu frais - Saffron and Honey

As you can see, none of us can resist doing our own thing, however, tiny that thing is.

We are having an omelette for dinner tonight, but mine will just be another dustbin kind - although perhaps a little bit different this time. I'm just going to fry off yesterday's dustbin pasta dish, add some Parmesan to the eggs, before pouring over the pasta and finishing under the grill. I've never done an omelette that includes pasta before, but I have seen versions online. I think even Ottolenghi has one.

Just as simple but different.

YEARS GONE BY

February 14 - Valentine's Day - I am going to make some heart-shaped Nectarine tarts in recognition of that fact.

2025 - Nothing

2024 - Never the same - interpreting recipes

2023 - Three good things on a plate - eggs, cheese and mint for example

2022 - Terrine de campagne

2021 - Missing

2020 - Coffee and me

2019 - Two Greek grapes in a bottle called White Dot

2018 - I missed pancake day

2017 - Nothing