02-06-2025
Healthy eating: Enjoy the veggie dubbed the ‘vegan's Viagra' in this quick and easy asparagus omelette
Where can we stock up on folate, you cry? At your local supermarket. Just four spears of asparagus gives you around 20pc of your daily folate. Maybe that's why they call it the vegan's Viagra?
Unusual for a food, there's also a carnival of glutathione within each slender spear of asparagus. Glutathione helps to neutralise ravaging free radicals. This maestro of antioxidants sounds more like fly paper — all the pesky free rads stick to it. It's no surprise that low levels of glutathione have been associated with poor health and delayed recovery.
I couldn't sign off without bragging about this veggie's fancy prebiotic fibre. Asparagus contains inulin, better known as fuel or fertiliser for our fabulous gut microbes. Quite the bargain at €3 a bunch!
Asparagus omelette
Serves 2
You will need:
4 large or 5 small eggs
A handful of baby spinach, dill or parsley (or combo of all 3)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Generous seasoning
6-8 asparagus spears, woody butts removed and tender stems cut into discs
Grated hard cheese such as Coolea Farmhouse, Cais na Tire or Parmesan, to top
Rocket, to top (optional)
1 Break the eggs into the jug of an electric blender, Nutribullet or smoothie maker. Blitz the eggs with the spinach or herbs until smooth. The mixture tends to develop froth, so I like to do this the night before and leave the mixture resting in the fridge overnight. By morning, it is froth-free. You can also double up the recipe and chill it for up to five days in the fridge, which will then service breakfasts all week long.
2 Gently warm a splash of olive oil over a medium heat in a non-sticky frying pan.
3 Add the omelette mix once the olive oil is really warm but not piping hot. Season with a few turns of the salt and pepper mill and scatter your asparagus discs on top. (Feel free to use leftover cooked asparagus). Cook until the mixture starts to set (no need to flip) and there is only a slight wobble in the centre. If the eggs are taking a while to set, push the uncooked mixture into a new spot using a spatula. Likewise, lower the heat if the egg is setting too quickly, and lift the pan off the heat for 10 seconds. You don't want your omelette to brown or to crisp.
4 Add your grated cheese (cheddar is also ace, if you don't have any hard cheese in your orbit), and fold the omelette in half so that you are left with a half-moon shape. Serve straight away, with extra cheese if you fancy. Or slice into triangles and pack for a picnic! It tastes just as good cold as it does hot.
