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Pain-omelette
Pain-omelette: Abidjan's baguette stuffed with a spicy onion and tomato omelette
At dawn in Abidjan, kiosks on every street corner from Cocody to Treichville fry eggs to order and stuff them into a split baguette for workers and schoolchildren: the pain-omelette. The omelette is loaded with onion, tomato and fresh chilli, sometimes with a smear of mayonnaise or a spoon of spaghetti tucked in, and eaten wrapped in paper on the way to work. The common mistake is a thick, dry omelette; keep it thin and still soft so it folds neatly into the bread. Stock cubes often contain meat, so use a vegetable one. Cook the egg fully set for pregnant people, young children, older or vulnerable people. Chef's tip: warm the split baguette on the same pan for 30 seconds while the omelette sets, so it's crisp and soaks up the oniony juices.
- Total time
- 15 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 2
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- ½ onionthinly sliced
- 1 tomatodiced
- 1 fresh red chillifinely chopped
- ½ vegetable stock cubecrumbled, optional
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 baguettecut in half and split lengthways
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise (optional)
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Heat half the 2 tbsp sunflower oil in a 24 cm frying pan over a medium heat and fry ½ onion for 3 minutes until soft. Add 1 tomato and 1 fresh red chilli and cook for 1 minute more.
4 minStep 2: Beat 4 eggs with ½ vegetable stock cube and ¼ tsp salt, and pour half over half the vegetables, swirling to make a thin omelette.
1 minStep 3: Cook for about 2 minutes until the base is golden and the top only just set. Fold it in half and cook 30 seconds more, until no runny egg remains.
2 minStep 4: Warm one piece of 1 baguette, cut side down, in the pan for 30 seconds. Spread with 1 tbsp mayonnaise if using and slide in the omelette.
Step 5: Make the second omelette with the remaining oil, vegetables and egg in the same way, and serve at once.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 480 kcal
- Protein
- 20 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
- Fat
- 21 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pain-omelette take?
- About 15 minutes in total: 7 minutes to prepare and 8 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 2 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of eggs?
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water per egg, left for 5 minutes (baking only; vegan).
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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