I am full on obsessed with this 5 minute dinner. I recently discovered omelettes. Have you heard of them? Hey, woah! Fancy, you’re thinking! Feels a bit cutting edge! Like that time you talked us into trying potato pancakes. I felt the same way at first. I was all like “Omelettes??? What kind of uppity, cheffy hob snobbery is THAT?!.” Then one night when I was feeling particularly adventurous, I made one.
I estimate that night was about 15 years ago, and I’ve probably made 4 omelettes since then. All of them terrible. Much like riding a pig, Omelettes take practice.
I could never be bothered to get better at them. It didn’t seem like a worthwhile use of my time. Time, that up until recently, I’ve felt is better spent looking at pictures of cats I’ve never met on the Internet. One month ago that all changed and I am now an omelette making maniac for two reasons. They’re SO fast to make for dinner and when you make them properly they’re SO good.
HOW TO MAKE AN OMELETTE
I’ve had this very dinner 4 out of the past 7 nights: Omelette with cheese, mashed avocado with lime, refried beans, sliced fresh cherry tomatoes, torn cilantro. 4 time this week. FOUR. TIMES.
HOW TO MAKE A TERRIBLE OMELETTE
- Use too small of a pan.
- Use too big of a pan.
- Cook over high heat.
- Cook until browned.
- Use uncooked vegetables in the ingredients.
Do any of those things and I can guarantee you’ll have a terrible omelette, excellent for serving to that pig you ride.
HOW TO MAKE A PERFECT OMELETTE
- Use a pan the right size for your amount of eggs. 3 eggs = 7″ pan. (apx)
- Cook over low heat. Medium/low at the most.
- Pull eggs from outside of the pan to the inside for the first 30-40 seconds of cooking.
- Don’t let the omelette brown.
- Pre cook any diced vegetables you want to include.
That last tip is one that a lot of people don’t take the time to do but it makes all the difference. No matter how tiny you dice your red peppers or mushrooms, if you put them in the omelette just before you flip it, they’ll barely be warm let alone cooked. And that will be gross.
My 5 minute dinner doesn’t include vegetables in the omelette because that would make it take more than 5 minutes. Plus why add vegetables when cheese exists?
The other thing that takes these eggs from gross to GREAT is making sure you don’t brown the omelette.
You want the eggs to be silky smooth and they won’t t be if they’re browned.
To accomplish this you need to cook the omelette on very low heat and you need to STOP cooking when the centre has just barely set. It’ll be cooked, but not overcooked. This step is made easier if you use a slightly larger pan than you normally would. A larger pan means the egg will be spread thinner and cook in the centre faster, making unwanted browning less likely.
You. Need. A. GOOD. Non Stick. Pan. You need it. If you don’t have a good non stick pan, even if you do everything else right, your omelette will be a disaster. The pan I used is on its last legs and I’ll be picking up another one soon. If your eggs don’t slide around easily in the pan, it’s time for a new pan.
To make it a dinner and not just an omelette, add refried beans, a smashed avocado with lime juice squeezed overtop (that’s what makes it delicious), salt and pepper, a few cherry tomatoes and top everything with Maldon salt and cilantro. It’s a Mexi-inspired meal that’s filling, guilt free and full of goodness.
It might take you a few tries to get your omelette making technique down, but once you figure it out it’s like riding a bicycle. You’ll never forget.
You never forget riding a pig either, but for different reasons entirely.
I was watching a Japanese YouTuber, and on her advice ordered a Japanese omelette pan (small rectangular pan with lid, tongs and spatula) off Amazon. In terms of cooking, it was life-changing.
I have now given a similar pan to several friends for their birthdays and they love it as well. The shape of the pan makes it very easy to sautee your omelette fillings, then add eggs and flip or roll all into the perfect, Instagrammable omlette. I feel like Julia Child every time I use it.
Lagostina non-stick pans are the best – get them at CDN Tire; they have great sales! I keep them scratch free by storing them with coffee filters between them. My fave omelet is a guacamole one; homemade quac, but I guess bought would work, if you have a fave. Sometimes I’ll precook some bigger pieces of peppers and onions to add to it. Or, add sliced tomatoes with the quac; no precooking needed for those. Add whatever you want. Topped with cheese, salsa and sour cream. Yum!
Thanks for recept :)
Grate the cheese first and it will melt more quickly. Omelettes are a great use for left-over cooked vegetables — mushrooms, spinach, kale, potato, anything. Heat the veggies first in the microwave, pop them in the omelette hot. That way the the center of the omelette doesn’t take as long to cook.
I love omelets but suck at making them. Must’ve been the damn pan. So I too followed Karen’s advice and mine should be on its way from Amazon soon. Two clicks – one on the link and one on click to buy. Yummers!
I personally don’t like the Téflon pans ( sure wipe clean ) but see to many that after a few uses are no longer flat, an I have never really trusted the surface… husband on the onther hand loves them , he has about 8 of them … I will do just about anything not to use them call me crazy if you wish or old fashioned. A well seasoned cast iron pan that you can keep your other half from a using high temperatures or scrub brushes on . Is most definitely a much better deal an , an one that will save you money as you will not be constantly having to replace it.
Omelettes , crepes To one dish meals what’s not to love about cast iron .
After puchasing and destroying two expensive and supposedly non-stick Scanpans, i finally read an article on SerioUs Eats about how cheap nonstick pans were the only thing that really worked. After some comment reading and quick research, I bought a two-pack of Faberware skillets for $17 on Amazon. When they start to flake, in about 2 years, I guess I just toss them and buy new ones. I hate the waste but I’m tired of sticky skillets.
Nonstick pan, Minerva’s Amish butter made with sea salt, precooked sauteed mushrooms, spinach, thinly sliced onions and red bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, garlic, cheese, eggs. Heat pan, add butter. Melt butter. Whip eggs and add to pan. Cool over low heat as you tilt pan to spread eggs. Flip once and immediately sprinkle cheese on eggs, allow to melt slightly, add warm vegetables, fold and serve! Yum!
When I was in my late 20s, friends would “drop by” on Sunday mornings for a visit, knowing that I usually made an omelette on Sunday mornings. The method I used in cooking it was a hot pan, large glob of butter, throw butter in pan and start circling the lowered-heat burner with the pan, while the butter melted, add beaten eggs, continue circling energetically, breaking any bubbles that came up, which would then be filled with the remaining uncooked moving eggs. There was side scraping into the middle, the addition of warmed, cubed ham, LOTS of cheese, and just before folding in half, chopped tomatoes and sometimes avocado or mushrooms, depending on what was in the fridge.
The rotating of the pan while it cooked kept the omelette evenly thick. The omelette never burned, but usually very, very lightly browned. When the same people kept “dropping by” every Sunday for weeks on end, I figured it was a pretty good omelette. And it was a great way to spend a Sunday morning.
My mother found a Spanish omelette recipe that includes a tortilla torn into smaller pieces and added to the egg after it’s in the pan, lots of butter, diced mild green chiles, and lots of cheese, usually served with sliced avocado. To die for.
Noticed the salt and pepper shaker in the picture. My mother had the same set when we were growing up!
She also made a fluffy omelette — separate the eggs, whip the whites, fold in the yolks and cook. I haven’t made one like that in a while, but I think you an give it one fold. I wasn’t a big egg lover then, but I liked that type of omelette.
I agree with Hanna, a post on non-stick pans would be good.
I have to have ketchup with my omelette – which my son says is just wrong – but I love it!
Also lots of uncooked green pepper for crunch.