Baked Greek Omelet

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but who has time (or the inclination) to get up early to make it every morning? This baked omelet is my answer. While the following recipe is for a Greek-inspired omelet, you can use the technique with any combination of flavors and make delicious food. Other versions I enjoy include mushroom/onion/rosemary/goat cheese, arugala/goat cheese, onion/red pepper/green pepper/cheddar, asparagus/mushroom/goat cheese, and glass shards/goat cheese (jk). Thought I have never tried them, I bet broccoli/cheddar, roasted zucchini or squash/mozzarella, anything with sundried tomatoes and roasted red peppers, and tomato/fresh basil/mozzarella would also be excellent. My only main advice for experimenting with this recipe is to make sure you cook things enough before adding the eggs and baking because the veggies won't cook much in the oven and raw onion, broccoli, garlic, etc. will 1. taste kinda gross and 2. be too hard a texture against the fluffy eggs. Also, you could certainly add in meat (sausage, bacon, ham, smoked salmon, shrimp) if you were so inclined, just make sure to cook the meat before you add it or thoroughly saute on the stovetop before adding the veggies.

Ingredients

Yellow or vidalia (sweet) onion

Olive oil

Spinach

Tomatoes (or tomato sauce/canned tomatoes)

Kalamata olives

Eggs or Egg Substitute (I usually use Egg Beaters)

Feta Cheese, crumbled

[Note: I didn't include ingredient amounts because it depends entirely on how much omelet you want to make, and how much you like each of the ingredients - there are no wrong amounts unless you have so many veggies the egg can't hold it together or you put in so much of one veggie you can't taste anything else. When I last made this recipe, I used 3 cups of chopped onions (about 2 yellow onions), 2 Tbsp olive oil, 6 cups of spinach, 1/4 cup sliced olives, 1/2 cup tomato sauce because I was out of fresh tomatoes, but next time I would use 3/4 cup chopped fresh tomatoes instead if possible, 2 cups of egg beaters (~8 eggs), and 3 oz of feta]

Equipment

Knife and cutting board

Saucepan

Silicone spatula/wooden spoon or scraper

Pan that can go in the oven [if you have a dutch oven, you can use it as a saucepan and then put it straight into the oven]

Oven

Stovetop

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350F.

2.Wash and dry tomatoes and spinach if necessary. Chop onions, tomatoes, olives, and spinach (but keep them separate on your cutting board or in bowls because you will add them to the pan at different times).

2. Heat your saucepan or dutch oven on medium/medium low heat on the stovetop. Add olive oil and onions, stirring the onions to coat with the oil. Cook, stirring every 30 seconds or so, until onions become translucent and are starting to brown. [I often finish chopping the other veggies while the onions cook, keeping an eye on the onions so they don't burn or start sticking to the pan].

3. Add the spinach and stir to coat with the residual oil and moisture in the pan. Cover with a lid if you have one for your saucepan and cook until the spinach has wilted (is soft and limp and has let off a bunch of water), probably 2 minutes.

4. Add the tomatoes and olives. Cook for a minute or two, stirring, until the tomatoes soften slightly. If using already cooked tomatoes, you can skip the softening. Turn off the burner.

5. If not using a dutch oven, transfer your veggies into a dish that can go into the oven (glass, silicone, or metal baking pan, pie pan, loaf pan, etc.) [I have on occasion just put saucepans, even ones with plastic handles, into ovens, and have never had a problem, but you could end up with melted plastic in your oven, so be warned]

6. Pour your Egg Beaters or crack your regular eggs into the baking pan and stir so the eggs are scrambled and the veggies are mixed throughout.

7. Bake until the egg is almost set (just a little wet on top and still jiggly but not liquid in the center), about 15 minutes (less if you are making a smaller omelet/using a shallower pan, more for a deeper pan/larger omelet).

8. Remove from oven and sprinkle the crumbled feta evenly over the top. Put it back in the oven until completely set (not wet on top and less jiggly, more quiche-like) and the cheese is a bit melty, a few more minutes.

9. Cool for a few minutes before serving, or cool completely, cut into slices, and refrigerate in individual containers for easy breakfasts you can take to the office and reheat. I recommend serving with a slice of whole wheat toast, but that's just a personal preference.