Omelettes

Omelettes are a versatile meal and reasonably cheap still, though not as cheap as they used to be. They are great for making a meal out of anything that you have in the fridge.  They are a simple meal that can be made quickly, and an omelette is suitable for breakfast, lunch, or as a main meal, and eggs are so nutritional. They are full of vitamin D and have 6g of protein in them.  We will often share an omelette and have it with baked beans for breakfast, or with salad and chips or new potatoes as a main meal. I would advise that you use a good none stick pan.  Those with curved sides are the best for omelettes but I have made them in other, flatter pans.  They are just harder to get out of the pan in one piece. When I have not had a none stick pan, I have seasoned an ordinary frying pan by melting a bit of butter in the pan and then sprinkling the bottom of the pan with salt.  I have then slowly heated the pan for a few minutes until hot and then cleaned it out with kitchen paper.  Once it has been seasoned, I just wipe it out each time and do not use washing up detergent on it.  I use a 6-inch pan for 2 x large eggs, or a 7-inch pan for 3 or 4.  Mr S and I usually share an omelette made with 3 eggs for breakfast.

Recipe for a basic omelette

3 large eggs

4 tsp cold water

Seasoning to taste

1oz butter (or some oil or margarine)

Method

1. Beat the eggs and the water together and add your salt and pepper.
2. Put the butter or oil into the pan until it is sizzling slightly or hot.
3. Pour the beaten eggs into the pan.
4. As the edges start setting move them gently to the middle of the pan with a spatula and tilt the pan so that the egg covers the whole of the base of the pan.
5. Cook for another minute until the egg is set underneath and slightly wet on top. (I don’t actually like mine moist on the top and so I flip my omelette like pancakes until both sides are set.
6. Fold in half and serve.

I don’t actually like mine moist on the top and so I flip my omelettes like pancakes until they are set on both sides.

Some variations

You can basically add anything to an omelette, but these are some that we make.

Ham and Potato.  Lightly sauté a tablespoon of diced, cooked ham or bacon with some left over cubed cooked potatoes in some butter and add to the beaten egg just before adding to the pan.

Chive or Parsley omelette.  Add about a tablespoon of the chopped herb to the beaten egg before cooking.

Crouton omelette.  Fry some cubes of bread in some butter until crisp and then sprinkle them with garlic salt.  Add them to the cooked omelette before you fold it.

Tomato omelette. Gently fry some tomatoes and fill your omelette before folding.

Onion omelette. Gently fry thinly sliced onion and fill the omelette before folding, or you can add them to the beaten eggs before cooking.

Mushroom omelette. Lightly fry mushroom and fill the omelette before folding.

Spiced vegetable omelette.  This is our favourite.  We sauté peppers, onions and chillies and add them to the omelette before folding.