How to Cook an Omelette
Knowing how to cook an omelette can mean many an easy, cheap, tastey, quick meal. One of the most versatile of dishes, the omelette can take on hundreds of different forms and flavours. This article will provide you with the base instructions and a few starter ideas for personalisation, but from there, the world is your omelette.
Steps
1- Prepare your ingredients. Strictly speaking, all an omelette needs to consist of is egg, however I think a plain omelette should at least be seasoned! 2 eggs is bare minimum for a snack, and a little butter is the preferred substance to cook it in. I find it best to not whisk the eggs before-hand as it’s nice to have texture in the omelette through subtle variations between the partially mixed white and yolk. Crack the eggs together in a bowl but do not whisk.
2- Place a non-stick pan on a three quarter high heat. Once raised to temperature, add a nob of butter that’s large enough to just cover the majority of the pan when melted. Add the eggs and begin to stir immediately with the spatula until the yolks are broken up and partially mixed with the whites.
3- Lower the heat. The level of heat required depends on how many eggs you’ve used (an omelette with more eggs will be thicker and so should be placed on a lower heat for longer to avoid burning the outsides). As you’re waiting for the underside to cook (this should not take more than 60 seconds), quickly season with salt and pepper, before adding any other extra ingredients.
4- Keep the omelette loose on the pan. Once it appears that the underside has set, shake the pan occasionally to ensure it stays loose.
5- Turn the omelette. Using the spatula and a slight angle on the pan, carefully turn it. Although it looks nice to have an unbroken omelette, it’s not the end of the world if it breaks slightly.
6- Cook on the reverse side. This should take slightly less time than the first side. Omelettes with 2-3 eggs should not take more than a couple of minutes to cook on a reasonably high heat.
Tips
Other ingredients might include: Grated cheese, cream cheese, onions, bacon, mushroom, tomato, herbs, rocket, tuna, ham, any thinly sliced meat etc etc. Be creative, think “what could I put on a pizza?”.
Omelettes can be made in any style with any spices- Thai, Chinese, Curried, Italian, Morrocon, Mexican etc.
Prepare, chop and cook all other ingredients before starting to cook your omelette.
A very thick omelette can be finished under the grill should it be too thick and runny on the top to flip.