A perfectly cooked omelette, the French way, is velvety yellow on the outside and creamy on the inside, folded into 3 to stuff or not. Once you learn the technique, you’ll never see eggs the same way!
Omelette is the French way of cooking eggs, just like the Spanish have their tortilla de patata, the Italians their frittata, and the Japanese their square omelette. The art of French Omelette making is quite fast and precise. Some people add a little milk or water to the egg mixture before cooking it in the pan. I usually prefer my omelette with a touch of milk, a pinch of salt, and pepper.
In this version, I’ve used olive oil instead of butter simply because I believe it’s healthier. It fits perfectly with the Mediterranean aromatic herbs crusted goat cheese that I’ve used for the topping. Butter is usually used; it’s a French recipe after all.
The filling
Of course, the omelette can be served plain, but you’ll usually add a filling. In this case, I’ve added a topping instead of aromatic herbs and goat cheese with tomato, but it could be mushrooms, ham, cheddar, spinach, etc.
If your filling, or ‘topping’ in this case, is colourful and generous, I would add it on top. But if you use a cod fish in bechamel, let’s say, since it’s less appealing, I would cut a hole lengthwise on the omelette and stuff it. The colour or texture is not particularly attractive, so it’s better to hide it. It’s up to you. I would hide those inside with a cheddar or mushroom filling to melt the cheese, and mushrooms aren’t exactly pretty.
The technique
To achieve a smooth omelette, bring your small (I suggest a good quality aluminum cast with a non-stick layer) non-stick pan to med-high heat and ensure the pan is warm before adding the egg mixture. Turning gently in circles, the pan in a circular manner (or simply shaking gently the pan nonstop) and with a wooden spatula, mix in the opposite direction in a circular manner too, taking the sides of the omelette stuck to the side of the pan. You keep doing this for a minute or until the omelette have a “cottage cheese texture”, then stop shaking/mixing and let set the bottom until cooked, no more than a 15 seconds, then take off the fire, fold it into a 1/2 moon, or fold it twice on itself, if the interior looks still too runny, let the residual heat do the rest of the cooking.
Golden rules
- A top omelette is never brown on the outside, which means it’s burned. You want a silky, uniform yellow omelette.
- Use a wooden spoon so as not to scratch the pan.
- Don’t bother using any other pan than a non-stick one.
- The French use white pepper but this is purely aesthetic.
- The perfect omelette always contains three eggs, well beaten until no white shows.
On the inside, it should still be creamy. Don’t wait too long before attacking it, because the omelette keeps cooking and will lose this precious creaminess in no time. The whole concept of the omelette is relatively fast—about 3 minutes. It makes a great breakfast, lunch, or even dinner dish, and kids enjoy it too, especially with stuffed cheese.
Variations
This precise recipe’s filling or “topping” is Mediterranean aromatic herb-crusted goat cheese and tomatoes, which are fresh, easy, and frankly easy on the eyes. But ultimately, you can stuff these omelettes with whatever you want. Here are a few ideas:
- Cheddar + chives
- Feta + spinach
- Brie + caramelized onions
- Smoked salmon + dill + cream cheese
- Ham + Swiss
- Bacon + cheddar + green onions
Other Egg Breakfasts
- Avocado Toast with Poached Egg
- Mini Filo Quiches with Leeks (Flamiche)
- Easy Spanish Tortilla de Patata Violeta
So here is the technique for the perfect omelette!
The art of French Omelette making
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 1 tbsp milk (or water *optional)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
Toppings
- 1 tomato
- goat cheese
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- thyme and rosemary (*optional)
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Mix the eggs well in a bowl, and add 1 tbsp of milk or water. (Milk makes the omelette slightly creamier, and water makes it puffier.)Make the omelette slightly creamier and water puffier.)
- Add salt and pepper. (white pepper preferably)
- Bring it to medium-high heat in a non-stick pan until quite hot.
- Add a touch of olive oil or butter to the pan.
- Add the egg mixture to the pan, with a wooden spatula, turn gently into small circles (while gently shaking the pan), taking the sides of the omelette stuck to the side off and back into the wet mixture until the omelette looks like “cottage cheese.”
- Make sure the eggs cover the bottom of the pan without holes, and let the omelette cook for 10-15 seconds more without touching it to set the bottom.
- Take the omelette off the fire and fold gently into 2 or 3. If you do a filled omelette, transfer it to a plate, then cut lengthwise and fill it up.
Notes
Nutrition
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