The fastest way to a delicious breakfast? Simply combine three well-loved elements into one amazingly scrumptious yet wonderfully simple meal. Case in point: cheese, chorizo, and egg. Almost effortless...and absolutely satisfying. The bonus? The fillings in this omelet were all leftovers!
Yup, as many are very much aware of, egg dishes like omelets, scrambles, and frittatas are superb ways to resurrect leftovers. In this instance, I had leftover cheese and cold cuts which were begging not be left on the wayside. So I decided to whip them into the shape of one mighty fine breakfast.
I used two cheeses here: brie and manchego (Spanish sheep's milk cheese). Manchego cheese technically should come from sheep from the La Mancha region (where Don Quixote comes from). It is a firm, crumbly cheese with a nice sharp taste (sharpness depends on the length of time the cheese was cured). When pairing cheeses this way, like for an omelet or a pizza, I like to mix ones with contrasting personalities...in this case, a mild, creamy brie, with a sharper, firmer manchego. The brie provides the oozy-melty factor, and the manchego packs the punch. If you want a stronger "punch" use one of the more, um, pungent cheeses instead. I didn't up the cheese ante though because: 1. They were leftovers, so I didn't have lots of choices, and 2. I still had the chorizo and did not want to overpower its taste.
Now on to the chorizo...one of my favorites: chorizo Pamplona. Pamplona is where you have the running of the bulls, during the fiesta of San Fermin. Ernest Hemingway wrote about it and now they have a street named after him in the city. So between the manchego and the pamplona it looks like I had a very literary breakfast!
Recipe is simple:
- 2 eggs
- 2 slices of brie
- 2 slices of queso manchego
- 4 slices of chorizo pamplona
Beat the eggs. Heat some olive oil in a pan. Pour in the eggs. Lay your cheese and your chorizo on top. When the egg is getting a tad firm, and the cheese is looking melty, fold, flip, and serve! If it behooves you, sprinkle with a bit of pimenton dulce (smoked, sweet, Spanish paprika).
Note: I know it looks like there's a lot of oil there. Between the olive oil, the cheese, and the chorizo spewing it's wonderful orange magic, you may have a bit of an excess. So if you really have to, just pat it with a paper towel or something. I chose to mop it all up with a piece of bread...and eat it.
Another note: That bread you see slyly positioned in the top of the picture is not just any bread...it's one of a series that I am baking. I'm trying to see how long I can go without having to buy bread...and so far it's going great!