Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Vegan Omelette


The term Vegan Omelette sounds like an oxymoron, but you really can make one, and they are quite tasty--as tasty as you'd like them to be!

My mom and I have decided that our new Mother's Day tradition is a champagne brunch of vegan omelettes and onion rings from the local drive-in!

We started by having the house to ourselves. We packed up the DH and the DD to go see the other grandma for Mother's Day. That left us to our own devices!

Here' a recipe I used, gleaned from the "Fatfree Vegan Kitchen" blog. I added some fat! And I made this as a recipe for two instead of one, so I have doubled all the ingredients. I think that's more efficient anyway since you can use a whole box of silken tofu and not waste it--just make two omelettes or scramble the rest and make breakfast burritos the next day if there's only one of you!

1 package silken tofu
2 TBS soymilk
2 TBS nutritional yeast
2TBS potato starch or cornstarch
2 tsp tahini (I was out of tahini--would have been good)
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
salt to taste
2 pinches of chipolte pepper or smoked paprika (optional--I used the paprika)

Also needed: Omelette filling of choice (have warm or at room temp)
vegan bacon bits
vegan cheese
sour cream
spring onions, chopped
pesto sauce

Blend all ingredients until smooth. ( I used my food processor.)

Spray a large non-stick skillet with olive oil and heat on medium-high until very hot. Pour the batter into the center of the skillet in a circular patter about 6-8 inches across and use a spoon or spatula to smooth over the top. Place filling ingredients over the batter, and reduce heat to low.

Cover and cook about 2-4 minutes, checking often to see if it's done. When the edges have dried out, lift a small section with a spatula and check to see the the omelette is set. It will be golden in color but not browned. When it's ready, loosen the omelette by sliding the spatula under it from each direction, and then fold one side over the other.

Cook about one minute more. Carefully lift or slide it onto a plate and serve hot.

Margaret's experience: I used sauteed mushrooms and onions with a couple slices of vegan cheese in the middle, and some chopped chives. Topped with vegan sour cream and a couple lavender sprigs for that "Mother's Day" touch. Since lavender is edible, my mom and I tried it--a little strong, but interesting addition to the whole flavor.

I used vegan margarine to cook the omelette and had added a little oil to the batter.

I found it hard to get the whole omelette to cook through--ours were a little "wet" still, inside. I made one the next day with leftover batter and made it more like a pancake and flipped it (not easy) to get it to brown on both sides.

Next time I think I will put more in the batter--like maybe some dry vegan "chicken" broth, and a little more soy milk--the batter seemed a little thick. Maybe put the chives in the batter, too.

You can see how you could make any kind of omelette here, just like in a restaurant--spicy mexican, cheesy greek, vegan sausage, etc.