Classic Omelette
The omelette being made on this page is a cheese and herb omelette but many other fillings can be used and no filling at all is still tasty. With each filling though, the basics of making an omelette do not change.
The word "omelette" is French, however omelettes of different types and names have evolved in many countries. France, England, USA and Japan all have their own slight variations. The first record of making omelettes goes back to Persia.
Level teaspoon of dried mixed herbs or a heaped tablespoon of fresh chopped mixed herbs
50g / 2oz grated strong cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil or a teaspoon of butter
Salt and pepper to taste
PREPARATION TIME: 10 minutesGrate the cheese.
Heat the serving plate in a microwave or oven.
Break the eggs into a bowl, add the herbs, salt and pepper then mix with a fork.
The idea is to get the egg whites and yolks just mixed together and no more. Don't whisk the eggs or mix for more than about 30 seconds otherwise you will incorporate too much air into the mix and the result will be a soufflé rather than an omelette.
Mixing eggs for an omelette
Heat the oil or butter to a medium / high temperature in the frying pan. Pour in the egg mixture and after 30 seconds or so mix the firming egg mixture in the pan. This will allow uncooked liquid to get to the base of the pan and cook the mix quickly and evenly.
After another 30 seconds, when the mix is half-cooked (see picture below), sprinkle the cheese (or other ingredients) evenly over one half of the omelette.
Start cooking an omelette in a pan
Cook the omelette until the top has started to firm up and cheese is beginning to melt. This should take around a minute.
Using a turner, flip the omelette over in half (the half without cheese to go over the half with cheese) as in the picture below. Cook each side for a further 15 to 30 seconds or so until each side is very light golden brown.
Turn omelette top half over bottom half
When the omelette has cooked, gently slide the omelette out of the frying pan and onto the pre-heated plate - this will avoid any chance of the omelette breaking.
To keep things very simple we served ours with peas but almost any vegetable will go with an omelette, chips are a common favourite.
Cooked Omelette