Andorran Portabella Omelet

October 15: National Mushroom Day

We debated the spelling of the big, meaty, mature Cremini mushroom. Is it “portobello”, “portabello”, “portobella” or “portabella”? There is an official Mushroom Council that accepts two spelling versions—“portObellO” and “portAbellA”—but uses the latter for consistency. Back in the 1980s, marketers were trying to popularize the not-so-pretty portabella. “Bella” means “beautiful” in Latin so including this name in the spelling made this mushroom seem more glamorous. Nevertheless, it is a delicious and hearty ingredient in a rustic omelet.

For National Mushroom Day, put portabella mushrooms in this Andorran portabella omelet.

Recipe

(Adapted from Food.com)

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups portabella mushrooms, de-stemmed and thinly sliced
  • 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon)
  • ½ cup gruyere cheese, coarsely grated
  • 5 eggs
  • 3 tablespoons butter, divided use
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Prepare the filling for the omelet by slicing the portabella mushrooms and shallot, chopping the tarragon and grating the cheese.

Season with salt and pepper. In a nonstick skillet, melt 1 ½ tablespoons of butter over medium high heat. Sautee the sliced shallots until wilted and brown. Add the slices portabella mushrooms and cook until softened (around 5 minutes). Sprinkle the tarragon over the shallots/mushrooms mixture. Season with salt and pepper and cook a minute more. Transfer to a plate.

In the same skillet, melt the remaining 1 ½ tablespoons of butter. In a bowl, beat the eggs. Pour the beaten egg over the butter and cook until the bottom of the egg has solidified.

Put the shallots/mushrooms mixture on one half side of the eggs and cook until slightly set. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the mixture. Fold the other half of the egg over and cook for another minute until the cheese has melted a little bit. Slide the omelet onto a plate. Sprinkle with fresh chopped tarragon or garnish the top with a sprig of fresh tarragon. Serve hot for two people.

Notes

  • Chop up the portabella stems and use in other recipes.
  • Search our blog for more omelet recipes.
  • Search our blog for more recipes containing mushrooms as an ingredient.