Pasta Omelette

For me, lunch is rarely an elaborate meal. During the week, I'll pack myself lunch- leftovers or a sandwich or maybe a salad if I'm feeling inspired- but I tend to leave it until the moment before I go to bed, when I'm tired and exhausted and certainly won't be found researching recipes or experimenting in the kitchen. You would think I'd learn, you really would, but it just gets worse and worse as I go on, until it's the morning and I'm about to miss my train and I end up with a muesli bar and an apple because there's not even time to open the fridge.

Then the weekend begins, usually with plans of fresh baked bread rolls or a slow morning spent labouring over a delicious hot meal. Then I realise it's actually 3:30 PM on Saturday and I'm starving, so it's usually leftover home-made pizza or a quick wrap and those grand plans go out the window. Last Sunday, however, I somehow got my act together with a good 1/2 hour until total starvation, and so I grabbed the first cookbook I saw and got to work.

The book was "Meat Free Mondays" by Paul, Stella and Mary McCartney, which I adore- I cook from it every now and again but Mum cooks a dinner from the book weekly, a meal I always eagerly anticipate. The book has a vegetarian menu plan for every Monday of the year, organised by season, and each day usually has breakfast, lunch, dinner, a side and a dessert. This was a lunch from the spring section, and it's exactly the kind of recipe the book advertises itself as containing- quick, seasonal, achievable vegetarian food.

The recipe struck me as bizarre at first, but when I thought about it I realised that it was pretty similar to lots of meals I love- it's practically a cross between an omelette and macaroni and cheese, and it's really delicious. They described 'slicing' it like a cake, however mine was a little too soft for that, but it was fine served just as regular pasta out of a bowl. Next time, like in almost everything, I think a little baby spinach would be a good addition, but it was perfectly tasty with just the tomatoes and would go with almost any vegetable you have on hand.

Spaghetti Omelette
Source: "Meat Free Mondays" by Paul, Stella and Mary McCartney

3 eggs
150g spaghetti
 60g butter
3 Tbsp freshly grated vegetarian parmesan*
3 Tbsp freshly chopped parsley
5 ripe tomatoes, roughly diced
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Lightly beat the eggs in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper.
2. Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water. Drain, return to the pan, and quickly stir in 35g of the butter, the parmesan and the parsley, then add to the bowl with the eggs and stir to coat spaghetti
3. Preheat the grill. Melt the remaining butter in a frying pan, and, when foaming, add half the egg and spaghetti mixture and spread level
4. Top with the tomato and then cover with the remaining spaghetti mixture. Cook on medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until almost set
5. Transfer to a hot grill for a further 3-4 minutes until golden. Scoop onto plates and enjoy! Serves 3

Enjoy!
Mia :)


*Many cheese contain rennet. Some rennets contain meat, but most cheeses should specify the origin of the particular rennet they used