Corn Omelet

I've been cooking a form of this omelet/frittata most summers for several years now. I discovered it in a book by Deborah Madison, whose cookbooks hold consistently reliable recipes. The combination of corn and basil was a pleasant surprise to me and it continues to be one of my favorite duos. Frittatas and omelets are by nature flexible so this recipe can be considered a guideline.

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Corn Omelet

Adapted from Vegetarian Dinners by Deborah Madison
Serves 4-6

Note:

The original recipe calls for smoked mozzarella cheese, which is indeed delicious. However, it isn't something that is a staple in my cheese drawer and since I consider a frittata to be a speedy meal I usually end up using whatever cheese I've got--usually Emmentaler or Parmesan.

Also, the original recipe is for one serving and directs the cook to slide the mostly cooked "omelet" onto and plate and place the skillet upside down on it so it can be inverted. This works pretty well with a small skillet, but since I've increased this, I find finishing under the broiler works better. However, if your skillet isn't oven-proof or if you don't like to heat a non-stick skillet that hot, do the inversion. It is a bit tricky but can be done.

As you can see, I replaced some corn with potato in the omelet in the photo above. It was good but I think I prefer using just corn and cheese. But you may like it with potatoes; if so add 1 or 2 small potatoes cooked and cubed.

Ingredients:

2 T butter
5 large eggs
1 splash water, or about 2 T
2 ears fresh corn, kernels cut off
1/2 teas salt
a few grinds of pepper from a pepper mill, or 1/4 teas ground pepper
cheese, a couple of handfuls shredded smoked mozzarella or Emmentaler or whatever you have
15-20 basil leaves, stacked, rolled and thinly sliced (chiffonade)

Instructions:

Cook the corn, either in the microwave or in a 10-skillet oven-proof non-stick skillet (in a bit of water). Drain the corn. Set heat to medium. Melt butter into the corn, if you cooked it in the skillet; otherwise, add the corn to the melted butter. While corn cooks, stir together the eggs, water, seasonings, cheese and basil leaves. Pour this mixture over the corn and allow to cook until nearly set on top, checking (by lifting the edge with a table knife) occasionally to see how brown the bottom is getting. Place the oven proof skillet under the broiler for a few minutes, depending on your broiler, until lightly browned and puffy.