Omolette José

Beat two egg whites with some salt until it stiffens.
Fry some pancetta slices until crispy and let the grease drain on a piece of absorbent paper.
Sautée some wild asparagus, after blanching them. Cut in small pieces, but let the tips whole. Season with Cellery salt.
Have some Cerfeuil leafs chopped and ready on the side.
Have a egg yolk ready and intact on the side.

Using a omellette sautée, non-stick, please, heat it up and smudge some ghee (clarified butter) on it with a silicone brush. Add a bit of garlick for flavour if you wish.
Instead of the butter you can use Virgin 1º olive oil, from good portuguese quality , the best, I must say.

Add the crushed pancetta, chopped Cerfeuil and asparagus and gently incorporate them into the beaten egg white. Save a small spoon of beaten egg white to use later.

Add this mix to the now hot sautée, give it a omolette shape.
Keep rolling gently so that it cooks the outside, always keeping the omolette shape.
when you feel that the outside is resistant, lay the omolete on one side and cut a big enough hole to add the egg yolk, unarmed, inside this little hole.

Remember the egg white that you have saved earlier? Use it now to close the hole and gently roll the omolette so that it cooks that part of egg white that you added.

Now, just before you place the omolette on the serving dish, brush it gently with some ghee and add some black pepper fresh from the mill.

Decorate as you wish, and eat it starting on the middle side, where the egg yolk is hidden.

To eat and enjoy with a glass of fine portuguese wine. I still look for the best marriage.

Instead of the Wild asparagus, you may use Salicornia, but reduce the salt because it is already a bit salty by itself.

I realize that it may seem strange to eat, because it is so far away from what one is used to, but the result is very gratifying, believe me...

For breakfast, off course.

Bom Apetite

Cheese experiment, book Jean-Charles Karmann

Camembert, camelised Apple slices and grinded Wallnut with bred crumbs around it.

But... something is missing here...

I tried it and I have to make a few changes to adapt it to my taste, sorry Jean-Charles... nothing personal, I am just a begginer... your book is phantastic ! I try again and make sure I do it as you say exactly in your book, ok?

Dom Rodrigo, sweet thing, portuguese traditional.

These are egg yolks stringed and cooked inside a light sugar syrup.
We call these "fios de ovos".







And this is what it will fill the little nest of 15 grms "fios de ovos", it is made with finely grounded almond, sweet and bitter ones, then almost caramelized, egg yolks added after this and cooked until it all becomes a nice soft cream like this one.




that's how it looks when they are mixed in a little ball, but it's not ready yet...






Now, cook some sugar and a bit of water to make this nice syrup,


roll each delicacy in it, but just enough to cover the little delight as this helps it to continue moist inside, among other things.

Gently, place it on a square of waxed paper to rest.








sprinkle it with icing sugar and grounded cinnamon.

That's how it looks like when you eat it. The original, as this one, is quite sweet and strong flavored, should be taken with a stong expresso coffee without no sugar added, or as Paulo, our sommelier well suggested, with a bitter almond liquer with some lemmon drops inside and ice cubes, and the coffee after or before, as you wish.

Fold silver foil and make a nice package, the usual is in the form of a pyramid, well like a pyramid, almost. I like to make other forms and this time we tried this one.

(that's me, the fat cook, but not for long, i'm on a diet!)




Tadaaaaaammmmm !

I have to make them less sweeeeet and maintain all the flavours and textures to make it available to the common mortals, but that's another recipe....

Have fun with the DOM RODRIGOS ! A delicacy from the south of Portugal, here where we are, in the Algarve region ! Almond trees, lots of 1st class chicken eggs and the sugar and spice given to the monasteries as payment, made the monks or nuns create this marvel, some centuries ago.
No excuse now, you can enjoy it as well, in your own home.

to make 16: 240 g "fios de ovos"; 100 g sugar; 60 g grounded almond; 10 egg yolks; syrup; icing sugar and grounded cinnamon; waxed paper; foil; inspiration...

Let's cook !