Ridiculously Easy Spanish Omelette... with a twist!

I spied this recipe the other day on Not Quite Nigella, and was immediately fascinated. Not only does this "meal" (you'll understand my quotation marks in a minute!) take only five minutes or so to prepare, but the first ingredient on the list is a packet of potato chips. Chips! For dinner! I know an excuse to eat junk food for dinner when I see one, and this looked like a prime opportunity. ;-)

It really does only take a few minutes to throw together, and though it's certainly not a healthy meal by any stretch of the imagination, it's more filling and nutritious than just munching your way through the whole packet of chips while you blob out in front of the telly (not that I would ever do anything like that, no sirree...). 

The chips go in a bowl and get slightly crushed - just to break up the really big ones. You can use whatever flavour you choose (though I'm not sure crinkle cut ones would work!), and the flavour does come through a bit. I would probably choose something very plain next time, and add some chopped chilli, herbs or spices to the mixture instead, as the salty chip flavouring left something to be desired.

The eggs get broken in, some cheese added, I seasoned with a little bit of pepper (heaps of salt in there already!), and then you mix together so everything is evenly combined. The chips are slightly resistance to being evenly combined, but persist - maybe a minute or so of stirring - till they're coated. The original recipe calls for the eggs to be beaten in a separate bowl, which would probably speed this step up slightly but only slightly, and I prefer using one bowl over two!

Leave them to sit for another minute while you heat up your pan, then pour the mixture in and spread it out.

Though it's a pretty thick omelette it still cooks pretty quickly, so have your salad at the ready! Once it starts to set and is brown on the bottom flip it over. I used two utensils to carefully lift it and plop it down again, and frankly am amazed it survived intact - if you're braver than me you could flip it with the pan. ;-)

We served it with some green salad, and it was pretty good. I wouldn't make it as a regular thing, but it has the comfort food factor and, seasoning aside, didn't taste like potato chips at all. The texture was good - the chips were soft and not like chips, more like they had morphed into something between their original potato state and pancake. I enjoyed my dinner, though Mr Cake, with his healthy bent, was less impressed. ;-)

The dish it most reminded me of (just because of the texture of the cooked chips) was Alison Holst's corn chip casserole, which has long been a staple of ours (though more in winter than summer) - but that has much higher vegetable content! Do you have any meals that are stealthily disguised snack food?

Cheat's Spanish Omelette (adapted from Not Quite Nigella)
150g bag of potato chips
6 eggs
2/3 cup grated cheese
herbs and/or spices to taste

In a large bowl, lightly crush the potato chips. Add the eggs and cheese and mix until combined. Stand for 1 minute. In the meantime, heat a non-stick frypan (or put a small amount of oil in a regular frypan) over medium heat. When hot, add the omelette mixture and spread out evenly. Cook for a couple of minutes, until beginning to set in the middle and the bottom is golden brown. Flip over and cook briefly on the other side. Serve hot with salad and relish or aioli. Serves 4.