by Di Johnson

Created on: May 16, 2008   Last Updated: December 02, 2010

The absolute delights of a warm, light, fluffy omelette with a softly set centre are hard to beat. It is quickly prepared, nutritious, has easily sourced ingredients and no technical skill required. Simply follow my recipe and enjoy for a snack or light meal. Add saute potatoes and salad for a more satisfying dish. At my cookery school in the UK supervised children as young as 6 have had success with this.

Equipment;
Small bowl
Fork (to beat egg)
Wooden spoon
An omelette pan or frying pan
Fish slice
Warmed plate to serve

The size of the pan is really unimportant as you will see in the method and of course would vary depending on the number of diners. What is important with your pan is the quality. Whatever type of surface the pan has ensure that it is non-stick in some way whether that be fine grade stainless steel or a man made non-stick surface. It needs to be slippery!

Ingredients for a Basic Omelette;
Buy the best quality you can afford. Really fresh, free range eggs are full of flavour and their cooked texture is exquisitely soft.
Allow 1 and a half eggs per person. If cooking for one decide between a 1 or 2 egg omelette to avoid waste.
A small nugget of good quality salted or unsalted butter the size of a teaspoon bowl.

Filling if desired; may include practically anything. I recommend one or a combination of the following. Parsley is ALWAYS in my omelettes! Unbelievably moreish!

Cooked lean bacon pieces or other cooked meat,
Chopped and cooked onion, spring onion is good
Sliced/diced cooked mushroom,
Grated cheese,
Chopped parsley.

TIP: Chop parsley, don't tear it you will lose valuable Vitamin C.

The filling will not cook in the omelette but will be heated. I feel the quantity of filling is down to personal taste, but for a guide - an amount which fits in the palm of your hand works well with most ingredients and if it's a vegetable then this qualifies as one of your recommended 5 portions a day.

Accompaniments

Saute potatoes and a crisp green salad are delicious with this, but do make sure they're ready. You only need the plate warm so that the salad doesn't object too much and the saute potatoes can be waiting in a serving dish in the oven to serve immediately the omelette is ready.

Method;
Beat eggs lightly until broken up and the yolks are dispersed. You don't want to break them up excessively as this will destroy the structure and create a tougher texture. We've all had an omelette like that at some time!

Melt the small nugget of butter in an omelette

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>