Asparagus Omelette with Ricotta

Fresh spring asparagus, creamy cheese, and perfectly cooked egg come together in 15 minutes to create a fantastic asparagus omelette. Enjoy the bite of crisp-tender asparagus while it’s in season as a fantastic, filling breakfast for one.

When asparagus begins to show up at markets, it’s a clear sign that spring is on the way. As one of the earliest spring veggies, I’m often eager to get cooking with it in recipes like my creamy chicken asparagus pasta or asparagus goat cheese tart. Really, I like it enough that I even enjoy it first thing in the morning.

An asparagus omelette is a really delicious way to enjoy fresh asparagus. Gently cooked eggs mixed with creamy ricotta, the crunch of pine nuts, and a hint of onion from fresh chives make the perfect compliment to its bold flavor. Plus, it looks beautiful, and you’ll feel happy, healthy, and full long after the last bite.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Quick and easy recipe – 15 minutes start to finish even while using fresh vegetables.
• Perfect serving for one, or can be made in batches to serve a family.
• This light and healthy dish is perfect for a vegetarian breakfast.
• Asparagus is very nutritious; it’s full of folic acid, potassium, fiber.

Ingredients

To highlight the flavors of asparagus and egg, we’re using just a handful of ingredients to make our asparagus omelette perfect. In addition to the always essential salt and fresh cracked pepper, we’ll need…

• Asparagus – 6 to 8 thin stalks is perfect. Use a knife to trim the woody ends where the green turns to white or purple.
• Eggs – 2 large eggs make one perfect omelet.
• Ricotta – this helps make our eggs fluffier and creamier, without adding distracting flavor. Small curd cottage cheese or mascarpone would be good alternatives.
• Olive oil – if needed you can use any neutral-flavored cooking oil instead, or unsalted butter.
• Thyme – we need just 1 teaspoon of fresh leaves stripped off the stem.
• Scallions – these add a hint of onion to our asparagus omelette, chopped chives can also be used.
• Pine nuts – A buttery little crunch that just works! You can use chopped cashews or almonds in a pinch.
• Parmesan cheese – I love a hint of salty parmesan on top. Romano or Grana Padano would be good substitutions.

Another optional ingredient is prosciutto. It’s particularly delicious with asparagus and eggs alike, and makes a perfect topping to your cooked omelet!

As a final note on asparagus, it’s best to use thin asparagus here. Thick stalks of asparagus can be fibrous and take longer to cook. If you have thick stalks, use a vegetable peeler to take the woody outer layer off. Do this halfway up the trimmed asparagus spears and take off just enough to expose the tender part of the stalk.

Instructions

Our actual cook time only takes about 10 minutes, and it begins with a pot of salted boiling water for blanching. Drop your asparagus in for about 3 to 5 minutes. You want them to be bright green and have a tender-crisp bite to them. If you started with thicker stalks, this may take a bit longer.

Once blanched, pull the asparagus and immediately cool it with cold water. This stops it from cooking further while we prepare our omelet.

Beat your eggs with half the ricotta cheese, salt, and pepper. Then, in a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat, add the oil. Next, add the egg mixture. Give the pan a swirl so the egg coats the entire bottom surface of your skillet.

When the edges, and only the edges, are set we’ll begin adding our toppings. On only one side of the omelet, add the remaining ricotta, asparagus, thyme leaves, and chives. Next, sprinkle the pine nuts over the top and reduce your heat to low, allowing it to cook for another 30 seconds or so.

Give the pan a gentle shake, the omelet should be loose once the bottom is cooked. The top will likely still look raw at this point. Use a nonstick spatula to gently flip the empty side of the omelet over the side with your lovely spring asparagus.

Let it finish cooking for another minute and serve it hot with the Parmesan cheese and extra chives.

With that first delicious bite of egg and asparagus, you’ll be daydreaming about the warm spring days and all the other delicious veggies soon to come. In the meantime, I have lots of other egg-inspired breakfast recipes that highlight other vegetable flavors I know you’ll love.

• Eggplant Breakfast Frittata
• Spinach Egg Muffins
• Breakfast Frittata Muffins
• Prosciutto, Feta, and Spinach Muffin Tin Omelets
• Italian Style Fried Eggs