Crab, Asparagus and Avocado Omelet Recipe | Lemons + Anchovies (2024)

Jump to Recipe

My husband and I walked back from the north end of Ka’anapali Beach, football and towel in hand, a little spent since we jogged the length of the beach and followed that with a game of catch and lots of swimming after that. If anyone followed us closely enough they might have heard the slight creaking in our bones. It was our last full day on the beach so we tried to squeeze in as much enjoyment from our time as we could. After a night of strong wind and rain the waves were more active this morning. I’d been swimming and trying to ride the waves until I caught one at a wrong angle. It took me under and I landed on my left hip, hard. I even lost my goggles but miraculously, they floated back to me shortly after. When I regrouped with my husband he told me that he got shredded by a wave, too. So we walked back, bruised–our egos more than our bodies, really–talking about how sad we would be to leave in the morning.

This is the third Christmas/New Year we’ve spent on Maui. It’s always hard to leave home during the holidays but after a few days of sun and sand we settle into a routine of jogging and swimming and really appreciate the time to unwind and relax. Each morning I’ve opened my eyes to a glorious view of the mountains and when I walked out to the living room I was welcomed by the sea. We had breakfast on the lanai and since we had a fully-equipped kitchen at our disposal I prepared several of our meals. We did leave our Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve dinners (and several of our lunches) to the professionals and dined out on those occasions.

With little interest in nightlife my husband and I opted for watching the sunset over the island of Lana’i each day. From the vantage point of our balcony or sometimes the beach, we toasted the end of each beautiful day with wine or bubbly. Really, how could anyone leave this magical place? We’re already making plans to return and that day can’t come soon enough.

On Chrismas Day I prepared this omelet for brunch. I’d been craving crab so I picked up two whole cooked ones upon arriving on the island. One of them ended up in this omelet. There’s nothing fancy at all about this dish; it’s the combination of ingredients coming together that made it special. For me, it’s all about the fresh crab meat, the asparagus (my favorite vegetable), a perfectly ripened avocado and the always-satisfying eggs. I tossed some of the crab meat into the eggs as they cooked, seasoned with dried tarragon and folded in the remaining crab meat and the rest of the ingredients. Served on toasted, sliced whole grain bread and red-pepper sauce this omelet for two made for a fine Christmas brunch.

Note: If fresh crab is not available I can see this also working well with smoked salmon. Just substitute the tarragon with fresh dill.

Ingredients

5eggs
Splash of milk
2/3 - 3/4cupcookedfresh lump crab meat (I shelled one whole crab)
6-8stalks asparagus
1avocadosliced lengthwise
1 tomatosliced
Olive oil or cooking spray and/or roughly 1 tablespoon of butter
salt and pepperto taste
dried tarragonoptional
red pepper sauceor any hot sauce to season, optional

Instructions

Crack the eggs into a bowl, combine with the splash or two of milk, a pinch of salt and pepper and whisk with a fork. Set aside.
Prepare the asparagus. Using a skillet that you plan to cook the omelet in (one with curved sides works best for omelets) add about 1/2 cup of water and bring to a boil. Add the asparagus, cover and simmer until tender, just a couple of minutes. Drain and set aside.
Wipe the skillet dry and return to the pan. Turn the heat on to medium-high. Spray a bit of cooking spray or add about 1 tablespoon oil and butter to the skillet. When the butter has melted and the oil is hot, add the whisked eggs. If eggs cook to fast, reduce the heat to medium. Using a spatula, pull in the outer edges of the cooked eggs, tilting the pan to move the uncooked parts to the outside of the pan. Sprinkle some of the crab meat onto the egg as it cooks. Once most of the uncooked egg has been moved to the outer edge of the skillet, flip it over carefully. You can flip the egg over on a plate and return it to the pan or use two spatulas. Use your favorite technique. Turn off the heat since the residual heat will cook the egg, it should only need a few seconds before it's done. Transfer the omelet to a plate, set the tomato slices, asparagus, crab and half of the sliced avocados and fold the omelet over. Top with the remaining avocado slices. Serve with toast and your favorite hot pepper sauce.