The Surprising Ingredient Nadiya Hussain Adds To Her Eggs

For centuries, people have been eating the very lovely egg. According to The Incredible Egg, Egyptian and Chinese records show egg-laying fowl were being used as early as 1400 B.C. In Europe, the first hen to be domesticated for the use of picking eggs dates back to 600 B.C., demonstrating that eggs in every shape and form have been enjoyed worldwide for quite some time. Whether scrambled, poached, fried, deviled, or served in an omelet, there is no wrong way to eat eggs.

Eggs are one of the few ingredients in the world that are extremely versatile and can go with just about anything you can think of. Baking a cake? Throw some eggs into the batter. Wanting to bind your homemade meatballs? That's where the eggs come in. Itching for some breakfast food for dinner? Pancakes and scrambled eggs will always hit the spot. 

Someone who has a keen understanding of just how wonderful eggs can be is none other than Great British Baking Show winner and TV personality Nadiya Hussain. The acclaimed baker won the sixth season of Bake Off and went on to write several cookbooks and even bake a cake for Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday (via ITV). In a "Food Diaries" interview with Harper's BAZAAR, the Nadiya Bakes star lets fans in on a delicious way she adds a special pop to her omelets.

The omelet has reportedly been around since the 13th century, according to Egg Recipes. There are so many different ways you can make the famed egg dish: from the tamagoyaki from Japan, to the tortilla de patatas in Spain, to the French omelette (via Everybuddy's Casual Dining). Omelets are as versatile as they come (think of them as the sandwich of the egg world). The best part about omelets is that you can have them at any time of the day — something that Nadiya Hussain and her family do on the daily.

In her interview with Harper's BAZAAR, Hussain reveals that she loves not only having eggs later in the day, but she also loves to add things like potato chips into the mix. The mother of three loves to add onions and coriander to her omelets, but considers the best omelets to have "crisps" thrown in. "The best omelet is the one where you take a bag of crisps — chips — and then you crush them in their packet and add them to your eggs," Hussain explains. Hussain leaves the chips to soak into the eggs, fries the mixture in a pan, and adds ingredients like cherry tomatoes and cheese on top.

According to Hussain, the addition of the potato chips makes the omelet feel almost like a frittata. She also notes that she doesn't add all of the chips to the eggs — naturally, she saves some to eat on the side. 

Interestingly, Hussain isn't the first to add potatoes to her omelet. There has been a long history of people around the world adding fried potatoes to their eggs.

According to The Kitchen Project, the frittata can be traced back centuries to the Persian dish Kuku (which is a veggie-based take on a frittata featuring herbs, per The New York Times) before it went to Spain and was turned into the Spanish omelet, complete with potatoes.

The Spanish omelet, also known as the Tortilla Española or Tortilla de Patatas, requires four simple ingredients: salt, potatoes, eggs, and onions (via Happy Foods Tube). And in a move that is unlike the Spanish when it comes to their recipes, the recipe for the Spanish omelet is pretty consistent across Spain. According to Barcelona Checkin, recipes for dishes like paella and gazpacho are all unique to the distinct regions of Spain (in other words, a paella in northern Spain will differ from that of southern Spain). When you think about it, the Spanish omelet is basically a heartier version of the lunchtime omelet that Hussain makes for herself and her kids. Unfortunately, for the Spanish omelet, its true origin is somewhat unknown. Andaspain notes that there are two myths surrounding the creation of this delicious treat, both of which date back to the 1830s and the Spanish army. 

The Kitchen Project says that a version of omelets with fried potatoes in them can be found in other regions like those of England, Italy, and Northern Africa. But, when it got to France, the French were said to remove the potatoes and make it their own.