herbs – Cooking with Leeks

This is a no-recipe recipe, in that you can basically make this if you have eggs on hand. I often make this when it’s the end of the week, and I only have odds and ends of cooked or uncooked vegetables around. I usually add in a shallot or onion to sauté with the olive oil to start, too. But that could be omitted. You could really pull this off with just a few eggs, olive oil, and salt. The addition of leeks, sautéed in lieu of the onions or in addition to the onions, would also be an excellent idea. Too bad I didn’t have any on hand.

The idea of a flat omelet is from my personal cooking bible An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler. She suggests adding a teaspoon of white wine to three eggs before adding them to the pan to liven things up. I have used champagne vinegar and lemon too, and it definitely adds the extra zing needed.

I happen to have a bunch of herbs right now leftover from making green goddess dressing last week, so I used tarragon, basil, chives, and parsley. Side note: adding herbs to nearly any dish will add a new depth of flavor, so I always try to add as many as possible (from the same family) if I have them on hand. If you’re not sure if they’ll go together, google it like I do. 🙂

*Chopped yellow onion, a few handfuls of spinach, three eggs, tarragon leaves, an herb mix of tarragon, chives, basil, & parsley, parmesan cheese, and a lemon*

Ingredients list for today’s flat omelet: 3 eggs, champagne vinegar, herbs, spinach, a yellow onion, parmesan, and a lemon.

To start, I heated the sauté pan and added the olive oil once heated, using more olive oil than I normally would for a regular omelet so that the top cooks too. I added the onions to sauté with some salt, to taste. Then, I added in the spinach until it’s slightly wilted. Next, add in the herbs and then the whisked eggs. Cook over medium-high heat (or lower if it seems like it’s cooking unevenly) until the egg mixture is set. Grate parmesan all over the top and more salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste.

Note: Substitute any vegetable with or in addition to the spinach. If I have roasted or uncooked vegetables that haven’t been eaten, or especially if they need to be eaten soon, I’ll throw them in too.

It’s not pictured, but I ended up adding plain full-fat greek yogurt on the side, because I felt like it needed some fat, creamy goodness! I like to sub plain greek yogurt for sour cream and sometimes mayonnaise because it has a high protein content and probiotics!

The first time I tasted lemon verbena tisane, I was at Chez Panisse with my love, Charlie. During this phase of my life, I was not drinking. I am so glad that I wasn’t, or I certainly would have completed my dining experience with a dessert wine over the lemon verbena tisane.

I thought I had never tried tisane before; but in reality we have probably all tried tisane, only called it herbal tea. Tisanes are simply an herbal infusion. Tea is technically only made with tea leaves (black, green, etc.).

The lemon verbena tisane was out of this world. Not only that, but I noticed that it had an overall calming effect similar to chamomile, which I always love. I later researched to find that it is a stomachic, which helps aid in digestion and in toning the digestive organs. Additionally, it helps to soothe anxiety and has a slightly sedative effect. I left Chez Panisse on a cloud.

When I came across fresh lemon verbena at the farmer’s market on Saturday, I knew I would be in for a treat making fresh lemon verbena tisane for at least a week.

I brew it just like tea in my tea pot. I strip the leaves from a couple of stems (though you can add the stem if you’d like), and add them to the tea basket. Then, heat your water to almost boiling, and pour over the leaves. Let sit a few minutes. The longer the leaves steep, the more flavorful the tisane will be. After a few minutes, you’ll likely become intoxicated by the scent and need to pour yourself a cup!

Category: herbs

Flat omelet with spinach and herbs

Lemon verbena tisane