Flower of Passiflora Vine

But wait a second. What’s this passiflora, anyway? Well, it is the name we use here for Passion Fruit, so I guess we should have called this the Passionate Peanut Butter Omelet, or even the Passionate Peanut Omelet. But what’s in a name, anyway? Upon searching the information about passiflora on the internet, I find that this word is actually the name of the genus, of which there are approximately 350 sepcies. Passion fruit just happens to be another name for Passiflora edulis, apparently used in the US and UK and spelled as one word, passionfruit in Australia and NZ. The name, passion fruit, was apparently given to the flower by missionaries because the parts of the flower seemed reminiscent of the torture (the Passion) of Christ prior to his crucifixion. The genus Passifloricae is found ubiquitously except in Antartica.

I say that making an omelet such as this is not for the faint-of-heart-cook because when you cut open the fruit and scoop out its flavorful insides, it is very liquidy and runny. This, together with “natural” peanut butter, which we use,  and which can also be a bit runny, could result in a Gooey Runny Omelet. That is, all the contents could run out all over the frying pan, except where you want them. In anticipation of this possibility, I took two precautions, both of which I advise that you utilize when you make one of these omelets. And it is definitely worthwhile to try because the tastes are really fantastic. It is the old “peanut butter and jelly” story all over again. It could even qualify for the “Best Yet Omelet” award.

Precaution number one is to mix a small amount of thickening agent in with the fruit. I used a teaspoon of cornstarch to about two tablespoons of fruit. I mixed it in until it dissolved and disappeared into the fruit. Was this important? I cannot really say as I haven’t made this omelet without doing it. This is, after all, not a scientific experiment with controls and statistical analysis. This is the art of cooking and, specifically, the art of omelet making. O.K. Now you can spread the fruit on the partially cooked egg.

Precaution number two is to dig down the side of the too liquidy, not fully homogenized “natural” peanut butter and scoop out some of the more solid portion from below the more liquid portion. You can then distribute it around on top of the fruit by using another spoon to gently remove small dabs and dropping them here and there.

The rest of the story is in the eating and we wish you a Bon Apetit, or as we say over here, B’tayavon.

Filed under: Omlet Tagged: passion fruit, Peanut Butter Omelet, purple passionfruit