While I cook up “whole” foods and balanced meals even, nothing can keep me from participating in snack culture–including, but not limited to, fast food, salted gummy candy, and the entire world of frozen potatoes. It turns out you can actually wrap your snack potatoes in eggs (a whole food, no less) and make it a “proper” meal. But you actually need no other reason than simply the love of frozen potatoes to make yourself this cheese fries omelette.
Fully inspired by Claire Lower’s fabulous frico fries roll-up, the cheese fries omelette allows me to wrap a few of my favorite ingredients together into one unified breakfast roll. This will work with any French fries you’ve got on hand–fresh, curly fries straight from the diner, cold, mushy leftover steak cut, or a bag of frozen shoestring. It’s hard to go wrong with the basics, but there’s a lot of wiggle room with add-ons. Keep it simple with a couple slices of American and shoestring fries nestled in a fluffy omelette blanket, or get creative and add some chopped bacon, hot sauce, brie, or chopped pickles.
Photo: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
Start with two or three eggs scrambled up in a measuring cup with salt. I like to season my eggs with a spice du jour, so this time I added onion powder and dried parsley. Melt a half tablespoon of butter in a frying pan over medium-low heat, so that it coats the bottom. Pour in the eggs and let them set to your liking, like you would for any omelette. Add a few slices of American cheese. I only added two slices and I kind of wish I had added more, so if you like it cheesy, put it all across the surface. Let it melt slightly—this will help the fries stick later. Taking a handful of french fries, arrange them across the center so they’re mostly all facing in the same direction. They should be laying perpendicularly to how you’ll roll the egg. If we use the cardinal directions, you’re going to roll the egg North-South, so have the fries making their lines East-West. This will prevent any crispy French fry points from poking through the egg as you roll it over. Once you’ve rolled the omelette, give it a little press and plate it.
Photo: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
I used crispy shoestring fries that were originally frozen and then air fried. These were excellent potato specimens, but the crispier texture made it hard to cut at times. While that was hardly an obstacle in my eating, and I can see folks enjoying the textural contrast, soft-cooked fries might be my next choice. Crinkle cut fries or tater tots with their pillowy centers would be fine alternatives too. The cheese is also up for interpretation. If you prefer an extra gooey cheese fries omelette, choose an easy melting cheese like havarti, taleggio, fontina, or even a jarred cheese dip. Serve your breakfast fries according to custom (it’s simply good manners) with a side of ketchup, mayo, or a drizzle of malt vinegar and a dash of salt.
