Portuguese Fluffy Cabbage & Fresh Sausage Souffle Omelet

What do you do with leftover cooked cabbage and fresh sausages? Make a pastelão, of course! A pastelão is basically a Portuguese stuffed souffle omelet, where you separate the yolks from the whites, mix the yolks with the filling, whip the whites until stiff and fold them in gently. This makes an omelet that is much fluffier and lighter, which is really nice, especially with heavier fillings like in this case, fresh sausages and chorizo.

This is a classic leftovers recipe, but the cabbage and sausage dish behind it is super simple. Put everything in a pot together, cabbage, fresh sausages, chopped chorizo, chopped onion and chopped garlic, cover with water, season with olive oil, salt and pepper, and let it cook until the cabbage and sausages are nice and tender. In Portugal it’s usually served with a nice plate of white rice, and if you have any left…. overs the next day, well, this is what you make with it. 🙂 A Pastelão! (Means big pastry in Portuguese, although its not a pastry at all)

The only tricky part of making one is flipping it, just use my instructions, the lid or a plate and you flip it easy, i say that because its a very delicate type of omelet, but even that isn’t really a problem. If it comes out a bit crooked or breaks when you turn it, it will still be delicious, so don’t stress about it. Just take it slow, and you’ll be fine. Lets check the recipe!

Portuguese Fluffy Cabbage & Fresh Sausage Souffle Omelet

Servings: 6
Time: 45mins
Difficulty: Normal
Rating: ★★★★★
Print

This is a delicious alternative to the dreaded omelet hehehehe, it's super fluffy, creamy and an amazing way to use leftovers.

Ingredients

Collard Greens – 250g, pre-cooked (chopped, with chouriço)
Fresh Sausages – 4, pre-cooked
Eggs – 5
Olive Oil – To taste
Pepper – A pinch
Salt – A pinch

Directions

Start by draining and chopping the collard greens and cutting the sausages into pieces, place everything in a deep bowl.

Separate the egg yolks from the whites, add the yolks to the cabbage and sausage mixture and stir to combine.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gently fold them into the sausage and cabbage mixture, season everything with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Heat a large frying pan with a drizzle of olive oil over medium-low heat. Once the oil is hot, pour the mixture into the pan. Cook slowly with a lid on, use a spatula to lift the edges and check that it isn’t burning, since this is a much thicker omelet, it will take a little longer to cook.

When one side is golden brown, use the pan lid or a plate or another frying pan to help flip the omelet over. Be careful and move slowly so it doesn’t break, start by loosening the bottom, then let the omelet slide onto the lid or the other pan.
Add a drizzle of olive oil to the pan and place the omelet back in, uncooked-side down. Cook covered until the bottom is golden brown. It is now ready to serve, you can transfer it to a serving plate or serve it straight from the pan. Normally with a nice fresh salad, enjoy!

Notes & Tips: Separate the eggs while they’re cold, it’s easier and the yolks are less likely to break. But whip the whites at room temperature, they get much fluffier.

Make sure your bowl and whisk are completely clean and dry. Even a tiny bit of yolk or grease in the whites and they won’t whip up properly.

Fold the whites in gently with a spatula, using big slow movements from the bottom up. If you stir hard, you’ll lose all that air and the souffle effect goes with it.

Drain the cabbage really well, and squeeze out the extra liquid if you need to. Too much water makes a soggy, heavy Pastelão that doesn’t want to puff up.

Use a non-stick skillet, or one that’s well oiled, and keep the heat low. It’s better to be patient than to end up with a burnt bottom and a raw middle.

To flip it, use a plate or lid that’s bigger than the skillet, that gives you more room for error.

Portuguese cabbage is closer to collard greens or a mild kale. In the US, collard greens work great, and so does regular green cabbage if that’s what you have, it just has to be already cooked and seasoned, you know what i mean, those next day collard greens are just even better!

No fresh sausages? Cooked chicken, leftover roast pork or even cooked bacon works great too. This recipe is very forgiving.

This recipe for Portuguese Fluffy Cabbage & Fresh Sausage Souffle Omelet was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Pastelão de Couve e Salsichas Frescas foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.