Ingredient

Omelette

An omelette is the fastest test of egg cookery there is. Everything happens in under two minutes, and the difference between tender and rubbery is a matter of about thirty seconds.

The two styles

French

Pale, no colour at all, rolled into a smooth cylinder, still slightly loose in the middle. Constant agitation over a moderate heat.

English or diner

Set through, lightly browned in patches, folded in half over a filling. Less agitation, a slightly hotter pan.

Both

Cooked fast, taken off before they look done, and served immediately. An omelette does not wait.

Neither

A frittata or a tortilla, which are set slowly and thoroughly and are different dishes entirely.

A French omelette

1. Beat two or three eggs thoroughly with a pinch of salt — properly homogeneous, no streaks of white.
2. Heat a small non-stick or well-seasoned pan over a medium heat and add a good knob of butter. It should foam but not brown.
3. Pour the eggs in and immediately start stirring with a fork or spatula, scraping the base constantly while shaking the pan.
4. When it looks like a loose, wet scramble — about forty seconds — stop stirring and spread it flat.
5. Let it set for a few seconds only, then tilt the pan and roll the omelette over on itself from the far side towards the handle.
6. Turn it out onto a plate seam-side down. The outside should be pale yellow with no colour and the centre still soft.

An English omelette

1. Beat the eggs with salt and pepper.
2. Heat butter in the pan over a medium-high heat until foaming.
3. Pour in the eggs and leave them for a few seconds, then draw the set edges into the middle with a spatula, tilting the pan so the raw egg runs into the gaps.
4. Repeat until there is only a thin film of liquid egg on top.
5. Scatter the filling over one half while the surface is still slightly wet, so it holds.
6. Fold the other half over, slide it onto a plate, and let residual heat finish it.

What goes wrong

• Rubbery — overcooked, or the heat was too high. Egg protein tightens and squeezes out water. Take it off while it still looks underdone.
• Weeping water onto the plate — overcooked, same cause.
• Browned when you wanted pale — pan too hot, or too little butter.
• Sticking and tearing — a pan that is not non-stick or not properly seasoned, or not enough fat.
• Filling falls out — too much of it, or added too late. Keep it modest and add it while the egg is still tacky.
• Wet, watery filling — mushrooms, tomatoes and spinach all need cooking and draining first.

The pan, and what goes in

An omelette is more dependent on its pan than almost anything else a domestic cook makes.

The size

A 20cm pan for a two- or three-egg omelette. Too big and it sets thin and dry before it can be rolled.

The surface

Non-stick, or a well-seasoned carbon steel pan kept for eggs. This is the one job non-stick is genuinely best at.

The sides

Sloping, not straight. You cannot roll or fold an omelette out of a straight-sided pan.

Fillings, cooked first

Mushrooms, onions, peppers and potatoes all release water. Cook them separately and add them at the end.

Cheese

Grated, added just before folding, so it melts in the residual heat rather than seizing.

Herbs

Into the beaten egg for a fines herbes omelette, or scattered at the fold.

How much filling

Far less than instinct suggests. An omelette is an egg dish with something in it, not a container.

Common questions