...from foraged ingredients!
I am a real fan of fried egg on a bread in the morning but I recently switched to acorn--chickweed-omelete. Never looking back dude!!
Before going into how to harvest and process acorns I figure I would share the why. Why do all this work? Well because acorn omelete is mindblowing, super filling and arguably a lot healthier than wheat bread.
Let us start with the greens, I collect them around the property, chickweed in this case:
It just loves to pop up from under the natural mulch that is the leaves from all the oak trees.
The more I look for it the more there is of it somehow, everywhere.
Ok, that should be enough. It's wet outside and I even caught a raindrop on camera.
Wash the greens and put them in the salad spinner. Not that there is much of anything to wash off...
And chop the chickweed!
Now for the real stars - the acorns! These have been leached already, which I will go into another time. For now just accept that they are perfectly kitchen ready edibles!
I chop them into smaller bits so they can better soak up the oil in the pan:
Add oil to the trusted iron skillet.
Then put the cut acorns in, and let them soak in the oil for a bit. I also add some cumin seeds at this time.
And our dill from Albania!
I spare you the pepper picture. Now stir it!
And because it's a house in the forest of course there is a kitchen witch (German term for wooden cooking stove). No need to waste any gas, it's a cold day and the stove is running already. There is a great sense of conservation and efficiency when using the heat of the stove in multiple ways... You can also see our latest acorn batch in preparation, drying in the background. As well as sticks for firewood /which is why the stove top is so messy).
Wait for the acorns to fry a bit
At this point I will take the pan off the stove to put the eggs in. Taking the heat away will allow me to spread the eggs, and add salt before the eggs turn white and solid.
Spread them out
Add the greens...
...and press down so they fuse into the still wet egg.
Now I wait for the eggs to become sort of a carpet that I can lift:
When I can lift the whole thing...
...I flip it.
We are done! After another minute on the stove I take the pan down...
...and take horrible pictures of the presentation. Ahahaha. God I suck sometimes lol. Wanted to fold it into an omelete but that did not work out. But you get the idea!
Time for a taster!
It's way better than it looks ahaha. The acorns are fatty and crunchy, the egg is mildly spicy with cumin and the chickweed is "melted" slightly, tasting similar to most greens. It's such a great combination!
Since the acorns are so energy dense a handful really is enough. It fills me up for hours and I just love the concept of eating things the trees next door have dropped. It's so delicious also.
Needless to say the only cost for this meal was the cumin seeds and the two eggs. I am in love with foraging! Yay, yet another new passion of mine! I am easily excited by awesome things!
If you have oak trees near you, there might still be time to gather some acorns before they degrade too much. I can totally recommend it!