Sunday, March 25, 2012

Spinach omelet with avocado and jalapeño- smoked salmon spread

If you're in the mood for a hearty and decadent breakfast,  this is possibly the most amazing omelet ever.... and I figure this omelet is a total omega 3 powerhouse...


The key component of the omelet really is the jalapeño- smoked salmon spread.  The smoked salmon that I used is from Bristol Bay and given to me by my friends Kelly and Nathan who smoked it themselves.  They moved out to Dillingham about a year and a half ago since Nathan is teaching at the middle school.

Dillingham is a hub community of ~2,000 people down in Bristol Bay, about 350 miles southwest of Anchorage, accessible by plane or boat.  Next door is Wood-Tikchik State Park, and at 1.6 million acres, it's the biggest state park in all of the United States. 

Bristol Bay is the region of Alaska where the Pebble Partnership is trying to build what would be one of the largest mines in the world in order to mine gold, copper, and molybdenum.  It's a multinational effort to establish the mine, and it is meeting strong local opposition because the very real threat that it poses to environmental damage that would have irreversible damage to one of the world's most productive wild salmon runs.  The Bristol Bay salmon is critical for both subsistence harvest and the commercial fisheries.  Beyond the economics impacts environmental degradation will likely have to the commercial fisheries and the all the jobs in the region provided by the fisheries, damage to the salmon fisheries will have significant cultural impacts in the Bristol Bay region as well.  For more information about this issue, visit http://www.savebristolbay.org/

 Jalapeño- Smoked Salmon Spread

Mix together:
8 oz block of Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
a minced jalapeño (I remove the seeds since I'm a total güera)
dollop of mayonnaise
splash of worcester sauce (Lea & Perrins is gluten-free)
4-6 green onions, chopped
6-8 oz smoked salmon
dash of salt & freshly ground pepper

 

Constructing the omelet

Start by heating a bit of olive oil in a small cast iron pan over medium high heat and throwing in a big handful of fresh spinach.




Saute the spinach until it is limp.  


Mix together a scrambled egg, a splash of half and half (or milk), and a few twists of my favorite new spice mix-- Trader Joe's South African SMOKE seasoning blend.



Pour egg mixture over spinach.



Reduce the heat and cover so the omelet cooks throughout.


Flip to ensure that the omelet is cooked thoroughly.


One on a plate, smear half the omelet with jalapeño- smoked salmon spread and add a few slices of avocado.



Hopefully with some proper management that looks at all Alaska's natural resources, we won't just have empty jars of Bristol Bay smoked salmon in the future....




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