Persian Baked Herb Omelette

I love a great vegetarian omelette. Well, heck, I even enjoy a good omelette. But I must admit, that I cannot lower my standards any further. The worst kind of omelette? The cheese drowned, limp filled, soggy, sad omelette that I have to open up with a spoon. Those kind of omelettes require me to “coat check my liver and colon” before I can even stomach looking at them. I know a lot of you are thinking, “well how do you get any flavour?”. Well, one bite of this flavour-filled Persian omelette, and you will never ask me that question again. The secret to this baked omelette? Blending the fresh herbs.

For those of you already celebrating the vegan, or at least, dairy free path of no return, this simple fact comes as no surprise. However, I am constantly amazed at how many people (including some cooks and chefs) that still cling to the misguided notion that vegetarian cooking translates into “no meat but heaps of cheese”! Now, I have admitted my long lost love of "all things cheese" in previous posts. But as fond as we were of each other, we just couldn’t live together. And just like any toxic relationship, it is all about breaking the habit. Then you discover that you really didn’t feel the way you thought you did, once you have moved onto greener pastures.

I remembered a quote the other day that said “You don’t ever get over a great love, until you find someone you love more”. This is true with food as well. I can never seem to let go of my dreams of reconciliation until I find a glorious substitute. The raw vegan ice cream is a glowing example of how this principle can serve you when experiencing dairy separation anxiety.

Now eggs on the other hand, I KNOW to be true love. I gave them up for a year to embrace a vegan life. But found that we really were meant to be together. I guess some things you CAN beat to death! For those of you with egg allergies, I will see you next week. But those of you who share my love or eggs and baked omelettes stick around. Cause this Persian omelette is going to rock your world! I was inspired a while ago by a recipe I found in an old book called Healing Foods, that has been collecting dust on my bookshelf. I had forgotten about some of the fantastic vegetarian recipes contained within it. We might not make anything else from that cookbook, but we will be celebrating and sharing this baked omelette recipe for years to come. It is quite simply, scrumptious.

I am actually catering a lunch for 20 people for Dr Carter’s lunch and lecture tomorrow, and I am quite confident about serving up this fabulous baked omelette. I have to admit my partiality to baked omelettes. They are so quick and easy; and very low maintenance, in comparison with their stove top counterparts who require constant attention. It reminds me of that line that Billy Crystal says to Meg Ryan in “When Harry Met Sally”, when she asks what kind of woman she is. He responds, “You’re the worst kind. You are high maintenance, but you think you are low maintenance”. Not that there isn’t a place for those kind too! They make the journey interesting. But in the interests of multi-tasking in this time poor world; and for the purposes of feeding more than a few people, a frittata-style baked omelette fits the bill. Even if you are just cooking for one or two. I come home, chop up the herbs, beat the eggs and throw it in the oven. I go off and work out, have a shower, and the oven has worked it’s magic and dinner is served. Or lunch? Or even an exotic breakfast or brunch?

Either way, share a life and love with this Persian omelette and you won’t have egg on your face. Well you might. But you’re not going to mind. This is one of those quick and easy recipes that you will be sharing for years to come.