There are very few mealtime woes that can’t be solved with a skillet and five to six eggs. Don’t have any dinner plans? Throw those leftover roast potatoes and wilting kale in the back of the fridge into a skillet with five or six eggs. Need abrunchcenterpiece that’s not too fussy? Mix together some fresh herbs, caramelized onions, grated parm, and five or six eggs and turn it all into a fancy little frittata.
So I was thrilled to open Ixta Belfrage’s latest book,Mezcla, and find an omelet that’s easy enough to make in the half hour after I get home from work with 50¢ worth of ripe plantains from the vegetable cart across the street from my apartment, but pretty enough to work as the meatless centerpiece of a casual Sunday morning gathering with a few friends. Belfrage’s omelet gives extra-ripe plantains thetarte tatintreatment, caramelizing the thick, round slices in a skillet before pouring in a custardy mixture of whisked eggs, coconut milk, and feta, seasoned with a smattering of refreshing aromatics and herbs.
After an eight-minute stint in the oven and a well-choreographed flip, the plantain-dotted omelet is ready for the spotlight and ready to be adorned with Belfrage’s Scotch bonnet salsa, some lightly dressed greens, or any other spicy, fresh touches you might choose to add to the table.
Whisking half a cup of coconut milk into the eggs shifts the flavor subtly, but it also does wonders for the omelet’s texture, adding, as Belfrage describes it to me, “a creaminess that isn’t overwhelmingly fatty like cream orbutter.”
Like many of the recipes inMezcla(which translates to “mixture” or “fusion” in Spanish), this one nods to Belfrage’s many culinary influences—a mother from Brazil, a paternal grandfather from Mexico, a childhood in Italy, and a food career in London involving a stint in the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen.
Ripe plantains, a staple Belfrage’s mother grew up eating daily, make plenty of appearances throughout the book. They’re turned into fritters with corn, puréed into a creamy base for serving shrimp, and fried and tossed with garam masala, maple syrup, and a squeeze of lime. And they were a natural addition to the upside-down omelet, both because of their ability to caramelize and lift away easily from anonstick pan, and because their fruity flavor is a great match for eggs.
“One of my favorite breakfasts is corn tortillas topped with fried eggs and fried plantain, as well as other bits and bobs like salsas, cremas and pickles,” says Belfrage. “Another great combo is eggs scrambled with plantain and onion, sausage or bacon.”
Since the bright, acidic sweetness in these applications comes out when the fruit is very, very ripe, look for plantains that are almost completely black on the outside with only a few yellow marks. If you can only find yellow or green plantains, all you need is a little bit of patience, or a trick from Belfrage: “Put your plantain in a paper bag with another fruit, then stick the bag somewhere dark, like the oven (as long as you don't turn it on!) or a cupboard.” In about three days your plantain will be tender, sweet, and ready to become the caramelized crowning touch on your next omelet.
