Saturday, January 24, 2009

Dinner Divas: Baked Gruyere and Sausage Omelette

The second recipe I picked for Dinner Divas was this Baked Gruyere and Sausage Omelette from Giada de Laurentiis. I liked that it didn't require a bunch of ingredients that I wouldn't normally have at home, and I like that you could have this for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or a light dinner. It was definitely more like a crustless quiche than an omelette. I couldn't taste the gruyere very strongly and would use a less expensive cheese like swiss to make this next time. My changes are in italics below.

Baked Gruyere and Sausage Omelette
source: Food Network

Ingredients
Butter, for greasing dish (I used cooking spray.)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1/2 pound mild turkey sausage, casings removed (I used a half pound of pre-cooked sweet Italian chicken sausage sliced thinly.)
8 large eggs
1/3 cup whole milk (I used 1% milk.)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 cups (4 ounces) grated Gruyere cheese
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly butter an 8 by 8-inch baking dish.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the sausage and cook until brown, about 5 minutes. Set the pan aside to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper, to taste, until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add the red bell pepper, 1 cup of Gruyere cheese and 1/4 cup of parsley. Stir in the onion mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. (Mine took slightly longer to bake.)

Cut the baked omelet into wedges and sprinkle with remaining parsley before serving.

Cook's Note: To make individual servings, divide the batter between 4 buttered 8-ounce ramekins. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes.