Anytime is omelette time!
And, this delicious variation created by the celebrity chef Todd English is sure to please whenever and wherever it turns up, especially if it features our local Port Orford crab meat. We believe that you'll find this pairing of the hearty shiitake mushroom (praised for its smokey understones) with delicate, sweet crab meat to be a welcome addition to your breakfast, lunch or dinner table!
Port Orford fishermen continue to bring crab
to the dock - fresh crab is such a delicious treat!
Todd English's Shiitake Omelette with Crab Salad
2 packed cups cleaned arugula leaves
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons Madras curry powder
Juice of one lemon
1 shallot, minced
2 teaspoons sesame oil
½ cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup fresh crab meat, picked through for cartilage
4 to 5 cilantro leaves, thinly sliced
4 to 5 mint leaves, thinly sliced
1½ cups stemmed, sliced shiitake mushrooms
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon clarified butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black and white pepper, to taste
- In a blender, combine the arugula, salt, black pepper and ¼ cup of olive oil. Puree until the mixture is homogeneous, drizzling in about ¼ cup of water to loosen if necessary. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. Reserve.
- In a small dry sauté pan over medium-high heat, toast the curry powder for about 2 minutes. Reserve.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the lemon juice, half of the minced shallot, sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the crab meat, the reserved curry powder, and the herbs. Gently toss to combine. Reserve.
- In a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, add the remaining olive oil, the remaining shallots and the shiitakes. After a few minutes, season with salt and pepper. If they are drying out, add a tablespoon or so of water to rehydrate. Cook for about 4 minutes total until they are colored and tender. Reserve in the pan.
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs, salt, white pepper and 1 tablespoon water, beating with a fork to get them very frothy.
- In a 10-inch non-stick skillet over very high heat, add the clarified butter and heat until it’s just at the smoking point. Add the beaten eggs and stir with a heat-proof rubber spatula for about 30 seconds until they are almost, but not completely set. Remove from the heat and allow the heat of the pan to finish setting it. Place a few tablespoons of the shiitake filling in a line just above the center of the omelette, perpendicular to the handle.
- To serve: Shake the pan downward to begin rolling the omelette over the filling. Use the rubber spatula to aid in the rolling. For the final roll, hold the pan at a steep angle over the plate and tip the omelette onto the plate, seam side down. Using a clean kitchen towel, shape the omelette into the classic “football” shape. Using a sharp paring knife, cut a slit in the top of the omelette. Top with the crab salad mixture, and drizzle the arugula puree over one side of omelette and onto plate.