Crespéou

Crespéou, a name from the Provençal dialect, is a simple Provençal egg dish that can be served hot or cold. Omelets with different fillings are stacked one on top of the other to form a multi-colored layer cake. Crespéou is served in slices that expose the colorful fillings. There is no rule as to what fillings are used, so feel free to experiment and create your own version of this Provençal favorite.

Ingredients

• 1 red pepper, roasted and peeled 5 oz. black olives, pitted and chopped
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 4 T butter
• 1 medium bunch of fresh basil, stemmed and chopped
• 1 medium bunch of flat parsley, stemmed and chopped
• 12 eggs
• 1 T tomato paste
• Salt, pepper and thyme for seasoning

Directions

1. To peel the red pepper, rub olive oil on pepper and put in medium to hot oven for 15 minutes. Cool, then peel and chop.
2. Sweat the chopped onions in butter with a bit of thyme.
3. Put 3 eggs in each of 4 bowls and beat with a whisk. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add the red pepper and tomato paste to one bowl of eggs, the olives to another, the basil and parsley to another, and the onions to the fourth bowl.
5. Process the four egg mixtures (pepper, olive, herbs, and onion) in a food processor, keeping each mixture separate.
6. Using an omelet pan, make eight omelets using half the egg mixture from each of the four bowls. Cook the omelets over a hot flame for just a minute or so. They should be slightly soft and runny when you remove them from the heat.
7. Stack the omelets one by one as they are cooked onto a flat metal pan covered in aluminum foil. Alternate the different fillings so that you create a colorful layered cake look. The eighth and final omelet should be flipped in the pan and placed on the stack upside down so that the fully cooked side is face up. This creates a more finished look for the crespéou.
8. Put the stack of omelets into a 300°F oven for 10 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes. To remove the foil, flip the crespéou over onto another plate, then peel the foil off carefully. Turn the crespéou right side up on a serving plate.
10. Cut in pie-shaped slices to serve.

Submitted 4/17/06.
Source: epicurean magazine
Submitted By: b smith

Crespéou