Southwest omelet sandwich recipe
Right before I began writing the recipe out for this southwest omelet sandwich, I came across something I just had to include in this post — an obscure French legend about Napoleon… and a giant omelet. I mean… a giant omelet legend from France? I know it may sound like a children’s book (Napoleon and the Giant Omelet) but it’s actually a real, honest-to-goodness, they-still-have-festivals-about-it, legend.
So, the legend goes that as Napoleon was marching his army through the south of France, the emperor himself stayed the night at an inn in the town of Bessières. There, he tried his first omelet and was so delighted with the meal that he ordered the townspeople to gather all the eggs in Bessières to feed his hungry army one giant omelet the next morning. The townspeople gathered their eggs, broke out their giant skillet (the townspeople of Bessières are apparently prepared for anything) and cooked up a giant omelet that the soldiers loved. They’ve been cooking the “Omelette of Friendship” every Easter in Bessières ever since, giving out omelet portions to the poor with a piece of bread.
The “Omelette of Friendship” and its charitable tradition have since grown much further then Bessières, necessitating the formation of the Brotherhood (or more mundanely, the Global Omelette Committee). The knights of the Brotherhood and their giant omelets can be found in cities across the world, from France and New Caledonia to Argentina, Belgium, Canada and Abbeville, Louisiana (where they also add 15 pounds of crawfish tails, because Louisiana).
Unfortunately, the story of my southwest omelet sandwich is much less inspiring. No emperor, no Brotherhood, just eggs and cheesy jalapeño bread in a delicious sandwich (I did knight my dogs, but for other reasons).
The southwest omelet sandwich is loosely based on the Western sandwich which you may also know as a Denver omelet sandwich or far more likely, as just a plain old Denver omelet — no sandwich. The Western was traditionally thought to be made with ham and scrambled eggs, not an awesome egg white omelet, but it is difficult to be certain since the sandwiches origins are so murky. Many restaurant owners have claimed ownership (because of course they did) but it appears that the sandwich was probably created for easy eating by cowboys/ranchers/Chinese laborers along the transcontinental railroad as it was being constructed in the late 1800’s.
This spicier southwest-ier version is much healthier than the original Western and weighs in well below 300 calories. The egg white omelet is packed with onions, peppers and cheese and is much less messy than scrambled eggs. Fresh tomatoes and cilantro complete the sandwich, cooling down the spicy jalapeño-cheddar bread for a very tasty breakfast which is still nice and light. I know somewhere in the past there was a vegetarian French cowboy working the railroad that would’ve killed for this recipe. Je suis désolé un cow-boy végétarien! Je suis désolé!
* That omelet is just a bit bigger than the one I used to get in college at a restaurant called Mike’s Place on the mornings after a night out on the town. Mike’s Place wasn’t your typical college joint with guitars and car halves adorning the walls. No, Mike’s Place was all-in on kitsch. It featured a large boat (complete with a wharf and sunbathing mannequin) in the lobby area (?), a table-equipped school bus parked in the dining room and a full-sized X-WING FIGHTER parked out front (whose pilot clearly knew the best place in the galaxy to to recharge an astromech droid and get an omelet fit for a rancor).
Image: ForkingSpoon
Southwest omelet sandwich recipe
This vegetarian Southwest omelet sandwich is a healthier, spicier take on a Denver omelet sandwich made with egg whites and served on jalapeño cheese bread.
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat an electric griddle or nonstick pan over medium-high heat.
Prepare the bread and eggs
Spread 1/2 of a tablespoon evenly over each slice of bread and toast on the griddle or skillet for 2 to 3 minutes until the bread is golden brown. Top 1 piece with the sliced Roma tomatoes. Warm the eggs in a bowl of hot water for 5 minutes. Warmed (or room temperature) eggs will generally have more volume, stick to the pan less and cook more like a fresh egg would as opposed to cold eggs directly out of the refrigerator.
Start the omelet
In a small bowl, whisk the eggs together with the salt and pepper until the yolks are completely broken up and the ingredients are fully incorporated. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter to the preheated griddle or skillet and use a spatula to spread it around the pan. When the butter starts to bubble, pour the eggs into the center of the pan and stir vigorously for about 5 seconds. After a minute or so the bottom of the omelet will start to set.
Finish the omelet
Carefully lift the sides of the omelet up using a spatula and tilt the pan slightly so that the uncooked egg runs to the edges and the top of the omelet is no longer excessively runny. Add the cheese, onions, peppers and cilantro to the omelet in an even layer, leaving enough space around the edges to easily fold later. Cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes and fold over one-third of the omelet. Slide the omelet onto a plate with your spatula and fold the omelet by another one-third so that the omelet is now a trifold. Place the omelet on top of the toast with the sliced tomatoes and top with the remaining slice of bread.
Notes
Don't throw those egg yolks away — they can be saved for use in a host of sauce and dessert recipes. Carefully mix them with water, place them in an airtight container and refrigerate for 2-3 days. Or if you aren't planning on having homemade fettuccine Alfredo or chocolate pudding anytime soon, you can freeze them. According to The Kitchn, you can avoid pasty, unusable yokes from the freezer, thoroughly mix the yolks with one teaspoon of sugar (for sweet recipes) or a half a teaspoon of salt (for savory recipes).
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat an electric griddle or nonstick pan over medium-high heat.
Prepare the bread and eggs
Spread 1/2 of a tablespoon evenly over each slice of bread and toast on the griddle or skillet for 2 to 3 minutes until the bread is golden brown. Top 1 piece with the sliced Roma tomatoes. Warm the eggs in a bowl of hot water for 5 minutes. Warmed (or room temperature) eggs will generally have more volume, stick to the pan less and cook more like a fresh egg would as opposed to cold eggs directly out of the refrigerator.
Start the omelet
In a small bowl, whisk the eggs together with the salt and pepper until the yolks are completely broken up and the ingredients are fully incorporated. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter to the preheated griddle or skillet and use a spatula to spread it around the pan. When the butter starts to bubble, pour the eggs into the center of the pan and stir vigorously for about 5 seconds. After a minute or so the bottom of the omelet will start to set.
Finish the omelet
Carefully lift the sides of the omelet up using a spatula and tilt the pan slightly so that the uncooked egg runs to the edges and the top of the omelet is no longer excessively runny. Add the cheese, onions, peppers and cilantro to the omelet in an even layer, leaving enough space around the edges to easily fold later. Cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes and fold over one-third of the omelet. Slide the omelet onto a plate with your spatula and fold the omelet by another one-third so that the omelet is now a trifold. Place the omelet on top of the toast with the sliced tomatoes and top with the remaining slice of bread.
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