Cauliflower Omelet

Wide range of book collections, a coffee shop with good amount of sitting space and wi-fi access. What more you need to spend a silent evening?? A and I have developed an interest in spending most of our Sunday evenings at Borders. Borders a book store with well organized sections of books offers a nice reading space. The cookery section is where I spend most of my time.That is where I came across a book on Lebanese Cuisine by Madelain Farah, this is due to my recent interest on Middle Eastern cooking. One of the recipe that interested me in this book was Ijjit Qarnabit otherwise known as Cauliflower Omelet. Cauliflower!! with eggs and milk ??? sounds different. Cauliflower doesn't find its way to my kitchen very often. We both are not a big fan of cauliflower so its often missing from most of our meals. Since its been a while I cooked cauliflower. I decided to try it out. The ingredients suggested were more on the sweet side, personally i did not like the sound of a sweet cauliflower omlette. So I made few changes according to my taste.

Cauliflower, just like broccoli and cabbage is known for containing nutrients that fights against several diseases. 13C( indole-3-carbinol) present in Cauliflower acts as an anti-estrogen and helps to lower the chances of tumor growth. Vitamin C in cauliflower acts as an antioxidant and helps in keeping the immune system strong. Other benefits would be the fiber and low calories. While buying this flower make sure the tops are white. The best way to consume it is by steaming them by which all the healthy components are intact.
However, Cauliflower is considered as a gas-producing food because they are rich in carbohydrates and that causes gas and bloating. So people suffering from bloating,belching or heart burn should avoid this vegetable. As for eggs, which are high in protein and cholesterol. I prefer substituting 1 egg white for every egg yolk because, whites are free from cholesterol and fat. They are loaded with protein. Calorie count of egg white in one large egg is 17. Where as in yolk its 60.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
4 Eggs ( I used 3 whites and 1 yolk)
1 cup milk ( I used 2%)
required amount of salt
2 tsp pepper
2 tsp chili paste
2 cups cauliflower, cooked
1/4 cup parsley,chopped
1 cup onions,chopped
1 cup carrot, chopped
1 cup zucchini or cucumber, chopped
2 tbsp butter


Method:
1. Beat eggs and milk thoroughly.
2.Add seasonings, parsley, cooked cauliflower and rest of the vegetables.Mix well.
3.Melt margarine in 8" square pan in oven and pour the mixture in the hot pan. The omelet will be 1 inch thick.
4. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes or until firm.
5.Cut into squares and serve hot with any sauce of your choice.
COOK'S FILE:
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NUTRITION FACTS: Per serving: 292 Calories; 22g Fat (65% calories from fat); 11g Protein;15g Carbohydrate; 189mg Cholesterol; 312mg Sodium
NOTE: The omelet crust should turn golden.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
This book offers a good amount of Middle Eastern cuisine, such as Arabic Bread, Hummus,Falafel etc. It contains a complete glossary of Arabic terms and suggested menus. All the recipes are well described with simple steps.