Omelettes are incredibly tasty no matter if you are eating them as a savoury breakfast or a light dinner, but it is incredibly common for them to break apart in the frying pan. Cooking an omelette might seem easy, but they can quickly become scrambled eggs if you are not using the right type of frying pan to make them in.
That might sound strange, but Jeanine Donofrio – a cook and founder of Love and Lemons –has shared the size of the pan is one of the most important factors to consider when trying to make a omelette. She said: “When you’re choosing what pan to use for this recipe, you’ll need to consider two factors: size and pan type. The size will determine the thickness of your omelette. For a two-egg omelette, you’ll need an eight-inch skillet. I also recommend using a nonstick pan here.”
If your frying pan is too big, then the eggs will spread too thinly and this causes them to break apart.
However, using too small a pan will lead to an omelette being too thick and not cooking properly, so the outside will be burned while the inside is rubbery and raw.
Using the wrong sized pan is what causes most cooking difficulties with omelettes, but they will come out perfectly if you use a standard 20cm pan to cook one omelette serving.
You usually only need two eggs to make a normal omelette, but if you want to make a thicker one then simply cook them in a larger pan and they are guaranteed to come out perfect every time.
How to make the perfect omelette
You will need (for one person):
- Two large eggs
- Salt and pepper
- Butter or extra virgin olive oil
- Eight-inch (20cm) frying pan
- Any topping for the filling (ham, cheese, tomatoes, spinach, etc)
Method
To begin, crack the eggs into a bowl, and stir until the egg yolks and whites are fully combined and looked frothy, then season with salt.
Heat the pan up to medium heat, then add a small amount of olive oil or butter. Once it begins to sizzle, pour your egg mixture into the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low.
Let the omelette cook for 10 seconds without stirring. Once the edges have begun to set, use a spatula to push the cooked egg in a circular motion towards the centre of the pan.
Occasionally tilt the pan to get any raw egg to run on the edges of the pan, which will help make it much fluffier. Continue stirring and tilting until the mixture thickens.
Use the spatula to carefully shape the omelette, smooth remaining raw egg on the surface. Then, cook the omelette without stirring for one to two minutes until it is mostly set.
Add any toppings you like to one side of the omelette, and then use the spatula to carefully fold or roll the omelette.
Tilt the pan to slide the omelette onto a plate, season it with pepper, and your perfectly shaped and intact omelette will be ready to eat.