Cooks' Books by Lisa Messinger

"River Cottage Every Day" by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (Ten Speed, $32.50).

Have you ever made an omelet that you needed to serve with a peppery side salad to cut its richness? Such is the very un-everyday quality of "River Cottage Every Day," the latest installment of the delightful series by British chef extraordinaire and sustainable food champion Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

For Americans, though, that's the charm of the 400-page book: What's easy and "everyday" to a person in one part of the world, may be easy and exotic to another from a distant land. Talk about being able to add to your quick weekday repertoire. Here, you will find lots of fresh ingredients combined and prepared in novel ways.

When, for instance, did you last serve your child a mixed mushroom tart as an after-school snack, such as Fearnley-Whittingstall does? Or start your meal with five-root and pancetta soup or a warm leek and white bean with mustard dressing salad? Or end it with quince and apple sorbet?

A quick lunch Fearnley-Whittingstall enjoys at home between chores is "inspired by the Savoyarde dish tartiflette, a rich baked combination of potatoes, cheese and bacon. Tartiflette is usually made with Reblochon, but any semisoft washed-rind cheese, such as Brie (not too ripe), works well or try a semihard cheese, such as cheddar."

TARTIFLETTE TOASTIE

1 tablespoon canola or olive oil

2 bacon slices or a slice of cold ham, cut into small strips

1 cold cooked potato (baked, boiled or even roasted), thickly sliced

1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream or creme fraiche

Sea salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 large, thick slice bread

3 to 4 thick slices (about 1 ounce) semisoft or semihard cheese

A few crisp, bitter salad greens, such as chicory, radicchio or frisee, for serving

Yields 1 serving.

Heat oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. If you are using bacon, add it to the pan and fry for a few minutes, until cooked. Add the potato, and fry until it is heated through and starting to color a little. If you're using ham, add it now and stir until well heated through.

Stir in the cream or creme fraiche and allow it to bubble and reduce for a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and season to taste.

Toast the bread, pile the mixture on top, then cover with the sliced cheese and put under a hot broiler.

As soon as the cheese is melted and bubbling, whip it out from under the broiler and transfer to a plate. Serve at once, with a few crisp, bitter salad greens on the side.

SMOKED FISH AND SPINACH OMELET

3 / 4 cup whole milk, or a mixture of heavy cream and whole milk

2 egg yolks

About 6 ounces cold cooked smoked fish, such as mackerel, salmon, trout, pollock or kippers, broken into large flakes

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 small onion, finely chopped

Sea salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 bunch fresh spinach, tough stalks removed

4 eggs

1 / 2 cup grated mature cheddar or gruyere cheese

Yields 2 servings.

Preheat the broiler.

Put the milk, or milk and cream, in a saucepan, bring to just below a boil, then remove from the heat. Lightly beat the egg yolks together in a bowl. Slowly pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly, to form a smooth custard. Stir in the flaked fish.

Heat half the butter in a frying pan, add the onion and a pinch of salt, and fry gently for about 10 minutes, until soft. Meanwhile, cook the spinach in a large pan of boiling salted water for just a minute, until wilted. Drain, let cool enough to handle, then squeeze out the water with your hands. Chop coarsely. Stir the spinach and onion into the fish mixture and season with a few grinds of black pepper.

Lightly beat the 4 whole eggs together with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Heat the remaining butter in a 9- to 10-inch nonstick frying pan over medium heat. When it's foaming, pour in the beaten eggs. As they cook, gently move the set egg around a bit with a fork to allow the uncooked egg to run over the base of the pan. When the omelet is half-cooked — set on the bottom but still quite wet on top — take the pan off the heat.

Spoon the fish and spinach mixture over the omelet, scatter the grated cheese on top and put the whole thing under the broiler for a few minutes, until golden, bubbling and slightly puffed. Let the omelet cool for a couple of minutes, then slice it in the pan. Serve with some peppery salad greens to cut its richness.

Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the author of seven food books, including "Mrs. Cubbison's Best Stuffing Cookbook" and "The Sourdough Bread Bowl Cookbook." She also writes the Creators News Service "After-Work Gourmet" column. To find out more about Lisa Messinger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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