Seasonal pantry: Crack open fresh eggs for spring

If you keep laying hens or shop primarily at farmers markets, you know spring is well underway. Local eggs from happy hens, scarce not that long ago, are abundant once again, thanks to the increasing warmth and lengthening of daylight.

If you buy only commercial eggs from supermarkets, you may not notice the difference but if you rely on eggs from a local flock, you understand and know, too, that these spring eggs taste so much better than their caged counterparts.

There are benefits other than taste, too. Eggs from chickens who spend time outside, scratching for bugs, taking dust baths, eating a diverse diet, and enforcing their pecking order have more nutrients than the eggs of confined chickens. And many people, myself included, find knowing that an animal from which we receive foods has a good life deepens our appreciation in a substantial way.

Yes, these eggs - locally raised, organically fed, and gathered by hand - are more expensive in the short run. But if you give them a try, you just might find that they are so much more satisfying that you eat fewer of them, with more pleasurable results.

For example, an omelet made with fresh local eggs doesn't need much, if any, filling. The simple pleasure of a bit of butter, well-beaten eggs, salt and pepper makes a great breakfast, lunch, or dinner when the eggs are rich with both flavor and nutrients.

The same is true of scrambled eggs, frittatas, soufflés, and egg salad. If you are used to three-egg omelets and scrambled eggs, you'll likely be more than sated with two local farm eggs.

Springs eggs pair beautifully with certain spring foods, especially asparagus, artichokes, leeks and mustard.

Visit “Eat This Now” at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com for such recipes from the Seasonal Pantry archives.

Today's recipes are from “The Good Cook's Book of Mustard” (Skyhorse Publishing, 2015, $18.99), which is currently available at Cultivate Home (186 North Main St. No. 110, Sebastopol) and a number of other local stores.

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Omelets are best made one at a time, no matter how many people you are feeding. If enjoying this at breakfast, buttered toast is enough of an accompaniment.

If the omelet is for lunch or dinner, add roasted spring onions, roasted asparagus, or sliced and sautéed radishes alongside. Mostarda is a sweet Italian condiment, typically made with whole mustard seed and fruit.

Spring Omelet with Mustard

Serves 1

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 large local pastured eggs, beaten until smooth

- Kosher salt

- Black pepper in a mill

2 teaspoons butter, preferably from grass-fed cows

1 garlic clove, cut in half

2 ounces grated Montgomery Cheddar or other artisan Cheddar, optional

- Toasted and buttered hearth bread

- Homemade or commercial mostarda, optional

Add the mustard to the eggs, season with salt and pepper, and mix well.

Set an omelet pan over high heat, add the butter, and, when it is melted, add the garlic.

Cook the garlic for about 15 seconds, spear it with a fork, and rub it all over the pan; discard the garlic.

Pour the eggs into the pan and let cook undisturbed for 90 seconds. Use a fork to whip the uncooked portion of the eggs, being certain not to disturb the cooked layer, until they are cooked as you like them.

Tip the pan back and forth as you whip the eggs to distribute the curds evenly.

Scatter the cheese, if using, down the center of the omelet.

Use your non-dominant hand to hold the handle of the pan, with your fingers on top. Tip the pan slightly and use a fork or rubber spatula to fold about a third of the omelet over itself.

Increase the angle, holding the pan over a plate, and let the omelet roll out onto the plate as it folds one more time, which is to say in thirds.

Enjoy right away, with a dollop of mostarda, if using.

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A souffléd omelet, sometimes called a puffed or puffy omelet, takes a bit more time to make than other types of omelets, but it isn't difficult and has a beautifully ethereal quality, like a spring cloud.

It makes a lovely dinner when you serve a big green salad alongside and is, of course, an ideal breakfast on a weekend morning when you can linger.

For a full lunch or dinner, consider serving a wedge of blue cheese and a green salad alongside.

Souffléd Omelet with Dijon Pear Sauce

Serves 3 to 4

- Dijon Pear Sauce, recipe follows

3 tablespoons butter, chilled

6 large pastured eggs, separated into large bowls

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley

- Kosher salt

- Black pepper in a mill

1/4 cup cold water

Make the Dijon Pear Sauce and set it aside. Preheat the oven to a temperature of 350 degrees.

Cut 1 tablespoon of the butter into small pieces and add it to the egg yolks, along with the mustard, parsley, a few pinches of kosher salt and several turns of black pepper.

Whisk thoroughly and set aside.

Whisk or beat the egg whites until they are quite foamy. Add the cold water and continue to whisk until the eggs form soft peaks that hold their shape when the mixer or whisk is lifted.

Use a flexible rubber spatula to gently fold the yolk mixture into the whites, being sure not to over-mix, as you don't want to lose the egg whites' loft.

Put the last 2 tablespoons of butter into a heavy pan, preferably one with sloping sides, such as an All Clad saucier; alternately, use a cast iron frying pan.

Set over medium heat and when the butter is melted, tip the pan to coat the sides with the butter.

Pour the egg mixture into the pan and, without stirring, cook the omelet for 3 to 4 minutes, until the bottom and sides set.

Transfer to the oven and cook until the omelet is puffed, the middle set, and the top lightly browned, about 12 minutes or a bit longer.

Remove from the oven and use a rubber spatula to loosen the sides.

Cut the omelet into wedges, set on individual plates, and top with some of the sauce. Enjoy right away.

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Dijon Pear Sauce

Makes about 2 cups

4 ripe pears, peeled, cored, and chopped

3/4 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar

3 whole cloves

1 cardamom pod, crushed

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

- Pinch of kosher salt

- Black pepper in a mill

Put the pears, wine and vinegar into a saucepan, add the cloves and cardamom and simmer gently over medium heat until the pears have softened, about 10 minutes. (The timing will vary based on the variety of pear.)

Use an immersion blender to puree the mixture and pass it through a sieve into a clean saucepan.

Set over medium-low heat and simmer until it thickens just a bit. Stir in the mustard, a pinch of salt, and several turns of black pepper.

Taste and correct the seasoning.

Cool, transfer to a glass jar, and store in the refrigerate for about 7 days.

Serve chilled or warmed.

Michele Anna Jordan is the author of 24 books to date, including “The Good Cook's Book of Mustard.” Email her at michele@micheleannajordan.com.