SWEET APPLE OMELET
it’s time for the Sunday Slow Bakers again, with one of our final recipes from Gina De Palma’s Dolce Italiano. This week the recipe had been changed, and I wasn’t aware until I had already made the Cherries with Mascarpone Cream. I wasn’t planning on making the Sweet Apple Omelet, until I saw a photo that one of my fellow slow bakers had posted. It looked too good to resist. So this became my dinner for Saturday evening. I cut the recipe in half, since I was by myself for dinner. I thought it was good, but too sweet for my tastes. The honey butter on top tasted delicious, but that was what put it over the top for me. I know if I make it again, I will cut back the sugar used with the apples, and then reduce the amount of honey butter on top. This would be a very nice brunch dish, or it could be eaten as a lunch or dinner.
SWEET APPLE OMELET (omelet con mele) Makes 2-4 servings
2 medium Golden Delicious, Rome, or Empire apples
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon grappa (I used Amaretto instead)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon honey
4-5 large eggs
Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting
Peel and core the apples, cut them into quarters, then cut the quarters into slices. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add the olive oil, followed by the apples. Saute the apples until they just begin to turn soft, translucent, and tender, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar and the cinnamon to the pan, shaking to coat the apples. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly add the grappa, then return the pan to low heat and let the apple mixture simmer for 2 to 3 minutes to cook off the alcohol and tenderize the apples.
In a small saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter over low heat; do not allow it to bubble. Add the honey and swirl the pan to combine the butter and honey thouroughly (I did this in the microwave). Set the pan aside, off the heat. Have ready a serving plate dusted with confectioner’s sugar.
Crack the eggs into a medium bowl and whisk them until the yolks and whites are combined. In a nonstick 10″ omelet pan, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter over med heat, swirling it around to coat the bottom completely. When the butter begins to bubble, add the eggs. Use a fork or spatula to pull any cooked egg toward the center of the pan while tilting the pan to move uncooked egg to the edges. Continue moving the eggs around gently until all the eggs are cooked, 2 to 3 minutes. Very quickly, spoon some of the cooked apples into the center of the omelet in a straight line spanning the diameter of the omelet. Shake the pan to loosen the omelet completely, then fold one side of the omelet over the apples.
Quickly slide the omelet onto the sugar-dusted serving plate, folding it over on top of itself with the edge of the pan or spatula. Immediately drizzle the warm honey-butter mixture evenly over the surface of the omelet, then dust it with confectioner’s sugar.
Serve immediately, cutting the omelet into 2 large halves or 4 smaller quarters.