Crespéou

By Sophie Dahl

Crespéou is a Provençal omelette cake in essence, with each layer offering a different colour and flavour. It is a useful thing for a big brunch-type occasion where you have many to feed; make it the day before and pop in the fridge overnight. You can be creative with a crespéou and mix and match the fillings – the ones I’ve picked are the things I happened to have on hand.

Photography by Jan Baldwin
  • Serves: 6

Ingredients

For the yellow omelette

  • 5 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon single cream
  • Salt and pepper
  • Olive oil
  • 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
  • A pinch of saffron

For the green omelette

  • 5 eggs
  • Salt and pepper
  • Olive oil
  • A handful of baby spinach
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
  • ¼ cup/25g grated Parmesan cheese

For the red omelette

  • 5 eggs
  • Salt and pepper
  • Olive oil
  • 8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • ¼ cup/25g crumbled soft goat cheese

Chopped fresh soft herbs, to garnish

Method

  1. To make the yellow omelette, whisk the eggs with the single cream and season. Heat a splash of olive oil in a small to medium-sized non-stick frying pan, add the onion, and to it the saffron. Stir and cook until the onion is translucent. Pour in the whisked eggs and cook until set. When it is totally set, place the omelette on a plate.
  2. To make the green omelette, whisk the eggs and season. Heat the oil in the pan and add the spinach, tarragon and parsley. Add the eggs and Parmesan and cook until set. Place on top of the yellow omelette.
  3. To make the red omelette, whisk the eggs and season. Heat a splash of olive oil in the pan. Sauté the tomatoes for a minute or so, moving them around with a spatula, and then add the eggs. Add the goat cheese and cook until set. Place on top of the green omelette.
  4. Wrap the three stacked omelettes in waxed paper and then wrap in a layer of aluminium foil, pressing them down. Refrigerate overnight and unwrap just before serving with more chopped herbs thrown on top. Cut as you would a cake and serve with a green salad.