I realized that I don’t have a lot of breakfast recipes, so figured that we should start with something simple.  I’ve made the breakfast sandwiches, homemade sausage, pancakes, French toast, bacon and eggs in tin foil, and waffles—more complex dishes at breakfast.  But I saw a hole that needed filling with simpler meals that only take a few minutes instead of multiple hours of prep work.  So, I bring you omelettes, a simple vessel that you can eat as is, or you can fill them with meat and veggies all you want!

According to some sources, the omelette’s roots can be traced to ancient Persia.  A dish very similar to the omelette was created there, though most of us think of France when we consider it (Davidson, 2014, p. 571) (Anderson, 2013, p. 65).  I discovered that 15 different cultures have their form of an omelette, for example, China has Egg Foo Young, while France has the standard omelette and the Provencal Omelette.  But India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mesoamerica, Philippines, Pontic Greek, Spain, Thailand, The UK, and the USA all have a variation.  We generally see only a few variations in Canada, the Western Omelette from the US, or a variation of the standard omelette from France.

This recipe is based on the standard omelette, but I realized it might be more like a Provencal Omelette in my reading.  The difference between them is how you put the topping on.  The Provencal Omelette has the toppings added to the whole omelette partway through cooking, and then it is flipped.  You will notice that this is similar to how I make my omelette.  The Western Omelette has ham, onion, green bell peppers and sometimes diced tomato.  On the other hand, I add whatever I fancy at the moment.  Salt, pepper, cheddar cheese, Mozza cheese, peppers, onions, chicken, ham, bacon, or just eat it plain.

The Fritta, from Italy, is likely another familiar dish to you.  The Fritta is an open-face omelette cooked with additions that may include pasta, cheese, or vegetables.  I can’t say that pasta in an omelette would be that good, but I’ve also never tried it, so I’m not the best judge.  You will notice that my omelette is a mixture of Italian and French styles.  I like to heat my ingredients before I add the eggs and cheese.  But this recipe is easy to make, takes some patience, but rewards you with a full hand slap of delicious!

The Omelette

Ingredients:

3 eggs – whisked
2 tsp Butter
¼ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Pepper
– ¼ cup of toppings (taco chicken, onions, peppers, cheese, tomatoes) OR toppings of your choice.

Directions:

• Dice all your ingredients and have them waiting.
• Grab a small mixing bowl and crack your eggs into it.
• Whisk the eggs and add the salt and pepper.
• Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-low to medium heat.
• Add the butter to the frying pan; add the toppings except for cheese once it melts.
• Cook your toppings for 2-3 minutes to heat them.
• Add the eggs and use a rubber spatula to bring the sides into the middle. Do this gently, so the eggs do not break.  You are trying to get the uncooked egg to take its place.
• Once all the egg is mostly cooked, add the cheese.
• You can try to flip the whole omelette or fold it in half; if you have kept the heat lower, the omelette will still be pliable and fold nicely.
• Continue to cook until the cheese melts, then plate and enjoy!