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Gastronomicon: Excite my Omelettes

 
  

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Our Lady Has Left the Building
19:52 / 01.10.05
OK, now I've managed to work out how to make an omelette without smoking out my entire flat, so what do you do to yours to make them tasty? Lets have some ideas for different fillings and recipes to try out.

But if someone tries to tell me you can use marrow I won't believe you...
 
 
ibis the being
20:01 / 01.10.05
One of my favorites is boursin and tomatoes - like a nice fresh roma tomato, yum. Smoked salmon... goat cheese...

I used to make "Japanese omelets" when I lived with a guy who had the rectangular pan you're supposed to use - it's one egg with a dash of tamari and a pinch of sugar, green onions for the filling. Makes a thin omelet that you roll up before serving.
 
 
■
23:06 / 01.10.05
Nope. Not going there. A good omelette is a thing of beauty that needs nothing more than salt and pepper.
 
 
Saint Keggers
23:09 / 01.10.05
Isnt that just a scrambled egg?
 
 
Bard: One-Man Humaton Hoedown
23:23 / 01.10.05
Instead of ommletes, try cheesy eggs.

Cut up a few strips of bacon into small pieces. Fry them in a pan with some chopped up onions, peppers, and any other veggies you feel like adding. Into that add two eggs, a touch of cream, and a good handful of shredded cheddar. Scramble like mad. INCREDIBLE stuff. Very tasty.
 
 
Loomis
08:30 / 02.10.05
Spring onions, green peppers and sweetcorn. A dash of cayenne pepper.
 
 
■
10:05 / 02.10.05
Isnt that just a scrambled egg?

No. Completely different methods, completely different dishes. If your omelette tastes like scrambled eggs (or vice versa) you're doing something very wrong. Egg tortillas (which generally do require fillings as they're otherwise fairly tasteless) are another matter altogether.
The problem with putting fillings in omelettes is that you tend to end up overcooking them trying to get the fillings incorporated and have egg that is cooked the whole way through (almost a tortilla, but without the grilling). Good omelettes should always be slightly runny in the middle.
Scrambled eggs should be cooked slowly over minimal heat and continually stirred (should take a minimum of ten minutes), omlelettes need a very high heat (the butter should be forming a haze, almost burning, before you add the eggs) and take less than a minute. The resulting flavours and textures aren't even vaguely comparable.
 
 
Ariadne
10:08 / 02.10.05
omelette aux fines herbes:

add fresh chives, chevril, tarragon and parsley to the eggs before you put them in the pan.
 
 
Scrubb is on a downward spiral
13:31 / 02.10.05
Goat's cheese, fresh basil, black pepper. A thing of beauty and a joy forever.
 
 
Goodness Gracious Meme
16:42 / 02.10.05
make yr omlette, when it's setting, bung some good mature cheddar and tomatoes, chopped into small cubes (vine for preference. tasssty vine tomatoes) and fold. Leave the filling to warm in the setting omlette.

Yummy

Ariadne's herbs idea is also a goodie. mmm.
 
 
Goodness Gracious Meme
16:45 / 02.10.05
has anyone tried a sweet omlette? There a Dorothy L Sayers book where someone gets poisoned by a sweet omlette and I've been fascinated (and dubious about/) by them ever since.
 
 
ibis the being
17:30 / 02.10.05
The problem with putting fillings in omelettes is that you tend to end up overcooking them trying to get the fillings incorporated and have egg that is cooked the whole way through (almost a tortilla, but without the grilling). Good omelettes should always be slightly runny in the middle.

Cube, with all due respect, from this description it sounds like you don't know how to cook a filled omelet. There's never any need to overcook. You cook the omelete the normal way, until it's just set (a little runny on top), then add the fillings, fold over, and remove from heat. The heat of the egg warms the fillings -you don't continue to cook it over the flame.
 
 
w1rebaby
19:03 / 02.10.05
Capers.
 
 
Bard: One-Man Humaton Hoedown
20:43 / 02.10.05
If you're putting capers in you need wet smoked salmon (Norwegian, for instnace, as opposed to dry smoked salmon like what you get from British Columbia), dill, and goats cheese as well. Four great tastes that taste great together.

...that sounds good, actually.

...damn. Now I'm hungry.
 
 
pointless & uncalled for
07:25 / 03.10.05
Finely slice some red onion and then sweat in butter until soft and then add sun dried tomato and fresh basil leaves. Warm through and then add pepper and crumbled goats cheese. Reserve until you are ready to fill your omelette. Make your omelette with oregano mixed in and a little grated mozzarella, line with the above mix along with either sliced chorizo, shredded ham, tuna or anchovies and some lines of pesto (standard green or black olive) Allow to warm through and serve with steamed potato (Maris Piper for preference) and salad.
 
 
Supaglue
08:31 / 03.10.05
Turn to the saviour of students - Worcester Sauce.


Hot Pepper sauce/Tabasco into the mix and top with salsa is nice too.
 
 
Jub
09:03 / 03.10.05
A different way of cooking omlettes:

Take three egg whites and whisk until they are as firm as they can be, then stir in the yolks. Once it’s cooked in the pan, stick on some cheese and tomato and herbs of choice, under the grill. Baddabing!
 
 
mondo a-go-go
12:28 / 03.10.05
I can't believe no one's mentioned mushrooms yet. (Unless you're all allergic to mushrooms, you poor things)

Another thing I recently discovered is creamed tomatoes (sometimes sold as "sieved" or "strained" tomatoes, though that sounds like baby food, bleh. Also, sometimes sold quite simply as passata except in Sainsbury's where the passata is twice the price because it comes in glass bottles instead of small cartons. Pretty much the same thing, but the creamed tomatoes are cheaper).

Anyway, add some of that to your beaten eggs instead of milk. Not too much, because it'll get too runny and then you might fiind yourself having to scramble your eggs anyway, before the bottom of the pan gets burnt...

Also, you can'ty beat a good Spanish omelette (this is not the same as a Mexican tortilla, which is made with flour, although they both have the same names. You'll need a deeper pan than your regular omelette pan, because what you want to do is: heat some oil, add a bit of egg mix to the bottom of the pan, then add some boiled potatoes and some tomatoes, mushrooms, broccoli, whatever, and then add the rest of the egg, which will fill all the gaps in the pan, and should bind the lot together. One of the great things about a proper Spanish omelette is that you can eat it cold, so you just make a huge one and save some for the next day...
 
 
grant
16:47 / 03.10.05
Soak grilled portobello mushroom slivers in balsamic vinegar, garlic and rosemary.


My favorite egg thing (better with scrambled than omelettes, possibly) is to put a few tiny bits of butter in the egg before cooking. Whisk 'em in. People notice it tastes much better -- but they don't know why.
 
 
■
17:11 / 03.10.05
Soak portobello mushroom slivers in balsamic vinegar, garlic and rosemary.
I have seen the light. Call me Paul on the road to damascomelette.
I forgot about mushrooms, especially the nutty brown ones. That sounds goooooood. Oh, and if you're doing scrambled, it's always good to add a little butter just before you finish cooking them, which helps them maintain a creamy consistency and bind them loosely together. I must admit my aversion to omelette fillings comes from a general tomato-phobia and, as so many have demonstrated here, seem to be such a feature of the dish. Still, I can't see how you could ever get bored with a plain one. Why didn't I buy any goats cheese or mushrooms, I was just at the supermarket?
 
 
Goodness Gracious Meme
17:14 / 03.10.05
Soak portobello mushroom slivers in balsamic vinegar, garlic and rosemary.

*Swoon*

*Runs to supermaket*
 
 
Bard: One-Man Humaton Hoedown
20:32 / 03.10.05
...damn. That DOES sound good.

Cheers, grant. I'm going to talk the chef into putting that on our grilled vegetable plate at the restaraunt!
 
 
grant
20:40 / 03.10.05
Warning: as with most other things I prepare, they are an example of Ugly Food. They'll turn practically anything black.

But delicious, yes.
 
 
Lysander Stark
07:31 / 04.10.05
Having read some of this thread yesterday-- but missed the Portobello additions-- I went home and butter-fried some ceps (or porcini) which I bought while in Paris at the weekend. I diced them up and put them in the middle of a simple and runny omelette. And in its simplicity lay its joy. I had the cap, butter-fried, on the side.

The balsamic treatment sounds fantastic too. I have also recently been recommended cooking good mushrooms in brandy (not sure whether there is oil or butter too, but it sounded mighty fine). Thank you, all, for helping with my cholesterol...
 
 
Bed Head
11:07 / 04.10.05
They'll turn practically anything black.

Omg, you’ve just invented the gothomelette. You’re a genius, grant. And perhaps this fine dish could be garnished by sprinkling with purple basil, to complete that old-school goth look.
 
 
mondo a-go-go
14:33 / 04.10.05
Mmmm, actually, I am a big fan of just grilling portobellas (or those big flat filed mushrooms) and serving scrambled eggs on top of those for breakfast.
 
 
bitchiekittie
16:57 / 04.10.05
my favorite omelet is made by first sauteing onions and mushrooms together in a bit of butter, putting them aside while I cook the omelet, popping on a generous amount of small balls of buffalo mozzarella right before it is done cooking and topping it with the onions and mushrooms. I drop in some freshly chopped basil (when I manage not to kill the plant AGAIN) and tomato (during the summer, this is also fresh from the garden) and freshly ground pepper, fold it and sprinkle the top with a tiiiiny bit of sea salt.

mmm, my perfect omelet. another delicious, quick and versatile option for breakfast, other meals and even dessert: crepes. you can make them thin and crisp or dense and soft, eat them plain, sweet or savory, with toppings or fillings or both. mmm, crepey.
 
 
ibis the being
17:54 / 04.10.05
I was just thinking... weirdly enough, every guy I've ever seriously dated has disliked mushrooms. What is that? I actually converted the worst of them - his dislike of mushroom was bordering on a phobia. Finally, after much persuasion, I got him to taste my grilled portabella at a fancy restaurant. Voila: mushroom lover.

I think almost anything would work in an omelet... let's see, roasted chicken and rosemary, maybe even with a bit of potato? Black beans and chunky salsa? How about bratwurst and saurkraut with a dash of lager?
 
 
■
18:15 / 04.10.05
his dislike of mushroom was bordering on a phobia.

I had that as a teenager. It was the idea of putting something with all those alien-looking gills in your mouth. I soon learned. Mind you, I still think they don't agree with me.
 
 
Loomis
19:35 / 04.10.05
I've always hatred mushrooms and I'd say it used to border on a phobia. The smell of cooking mushrooms still makes my stomach turn, though I am slowly learning to accept them in my life, a little at a time.

I've now got to the point where if there are button mushrooms in something then I will just eat them. I still dislike them but it's not too bad. And a couple of Christmases ago Ariadne's sister made a mushroom gravy that she stewed for hours with scary mushrooms, and by rights I should've hated it but to my surprise it was delicious. However my occasional experiment with the odd bite of other mushrooms hasn't brought me round yet ...
 
 
Ariadne
22:12 / 04.10.05
oi! I made that gravy!
It was damn fine too. And astonishing to watch Loomis eat it, and reach for more.
I love mushrooms, they're my favourite food after tomatoes, so poor Loomis does suffer as I fry them for my weekend brunches. I'd never noticed they smelled before, but they really do when you know there's someone hates them.
Omelettes - this thread has made me nostalgic for them but the truth is I was always squeamish about eggs. I'd go through phases of eating lots and then times when I couldn't face them.
Anyway... to come back on topic ... what's an egg white omelette like? They used to be de rigeur for sporty/ dieting folk - does it actually work? Is it nice?
 
 
grant
17:47 / 05.10.05
Yeah, surprisingly. They're light and fluffy, not rubbery like you might expect.
 
 
mondo a-go-go
14:31 / 06.10.05
I always thought that they were a bit wasteful, since you don't use half the egg -- even if they are lower in cholesterol.
 
 
haus of fraser
14:48 / 06.10.05
a tortilla with boiled new potatoes, lightly fried onion and or leek and a bit of grated cheese at the end- or add some chunks of chorizo in with the potato and onion. pretty much follow Annas recipe but add these ingredients instead.

its very tasty.
 
 
Loomis
14:49 / 06.10.05
So Lady ... have you tried any of our suggestions yet?
 
  

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