MOST OF US don’t make time for eggs or pancakes at weekday breakfasts, but for a special weekend brunch or an easy supper at home, we find them quite welcome—pancakes provide an especially homey and soothing evening meal. Egg dishes are an essential part of a vegetarian cook’s repertoire. Eggs are nutritious, economical, and amazingly adaptable both to the occasion and to the sundry ingredients in the pantry. They are also a convenient choice for a solitary diner.
In this chapter eggs are combined with grains, vegetables, and cheeses for simple, quick, and hearty one-dish entrèes. The most common dishes of this type are omelets and frittatas. Omelets, cooked eggs folded around a filling, can be topped with almost any kind of sauce, salsa, or vegetable relish. In frittatas the eggs hold the filling together. Beaten eggs are poured over cheese and/or cooked vegetables and grains and then cooked on top of the stove or in the oven.
The choice of fillings and toppings is endless. Leftovers from many recipes in this book are deliciously suitable for omelets and frittatas. Try Peperonata, Salsa Verde, Pesto, Borani, sautées, tortilla fillings, or toppings for pasta and pizza. Use leftover potatoes, roasted vegetables, pilafs, and risottos. Try cubes of leftover Polenta or Cheese Grits. Sun-ripened tomatoes, fresh herbs, and smoked fish are other possibilities. Stir a beaten egg into leftover pasta and fry it up as a pasta frittata. Any vegetables in your refrigerator that are going nowhere special can be quickly and easily sautéed and elegantly incorporated into an omelet or frittata.
Eggs provide protein, iron, and the essential vitamins A, D, and B12, but they have a high cholesterol content in the yolk. The American Heart Association recommends a maximum of 4 whole eggs per week per person, but allows unlimited egg whites. This allowance gives most people plenty of freedom to indulge in at least occasional egg dishes. If you are on a cholesterol-restricted diet you may wish to decrease the number of yolks used, adding more whites, or to replace whole eggs with egg whites alone; substitute 2 egg whites for each whole egg called for in a recipe. There are also several good cholesterol-free egg substitutes on the market (but check the labels for fat content). You can’t make a fried egg with these, of course, but they are fine for omelets, frittatas, or pancakes.