Egg white omelette with broccoli pesto

Method

1. Prepare the pesto: wash the broccoli leaves (including the stems) and boil them for 10 minutes in hot salted water. Drain and dry with paper towel. 
2. Cut coarsely and mix in a blender together with the almonds, Pecorino cheese, parmesan cheese, a pinch of salt and two spoons of oil. Chop little by little, gradually adding oil as much as needed to achieve a creamy pesto. 
3. Prepare the omelette: beat the egg whites, add salt, pepper, nutmeg, olive oil, grated ricotta cheese and mix thoroughly. 
4. Finally, add the breadcrumbs and stir from bottom to top with a wooden spoon to keep the egg whites fluffy. 
5. Heat a little oil in a 22 cm non-stick frying pan, pour in the mixture, cover with a lid and cook for about 5 minutes. 
6. Turn the pancake and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. 
7. Transfer the omelette onto a cutting board and, with the help of pastry cutter, cut circles of 8 cm. 
8. For each plate, arrange 2 or 3 discs to form a 'tower', alternating with a teaspoon of pesto. 

This recipe was created by the foodblogger Elena Levati for Noberasco

Chef's tip

You can make this recipe with Sicilian pesto too, if you prefer the taste of tomatoes to broccoli.

Serving suggestion

This dish is best served with a fennel salad. Make one cutting the fennels into thin slices and flavour it with salt, pepper, oil and lemon juice. 

Wine selection

Calasole Vermentino Maremma Toscana DOC or Cabernet; fruity and ripe rosé wines, sparkling demi-sec white wines are also a good choice.

Family tip

If you are not overly fond of almonds you can replace them with pine nuts, walnuts or cashew nuts.

Dish history

Eggs are a great mix of proteins, lipids, vitamins A, B and D, mineral salts..  keeping it short: a very nutritious and healthy ingredient! (Provided the hens were raised and fed in a healthy, sustainable way, of course). While we use them in many recipes, sometimes it is hard to think of an original way of preparing them as a main recipe ingredient. That's why we think you should try out this delicious omelette with its unique broccoli pesto - you'll like it so much you'll want to make it over and over again!