The Anything Omelette

Chef's notes#

As I learned from my dad many years ago, you can turn almost anything you've got sitting in your fridge into an omelette. He was the master at taking a carton of leftover Chinese food, taco fillings, or unused pizza toppings, and throwing them into a pan of scrambled eggs and topping it with cheese.

Now, when I go to a diner or brunch spot, I usually skip over all of the gimmicky or standard menu omelettes and go down to the "build your own" section of the menu. It's more fun, and you get to try combinations you might otherwise miss.

As mentioned in the steps below, it's important not to use too much heat when cooking the eggs, because you want them to not get overcooked and dried out and stuck to the pan. As I've learned, eggs continue to cook a bit after they've been removed from the heat, so it's better to undercook them just a little than to risk overcooking. One trick that always works is to cover the pan for a minute after the burner is turned off, which seals in heat and moisture.

Details#

• ⏲️ Prep time: 10
• 🍳 Cook time: 15
• 🍽️ Servings: 2

Ingredients#

• 4 eggs
• 1-2 tbsp butter
• ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup of shredded cheese
• 1 cup of diced onions, peppers, mushrooms, bacon, or any savory ingredients you have in your refrigerator

Directions#

1. Heat half the butter in a large non-stick frying pan on medium heat
2. If using chopped onions, put them in first to caramelize them for about 5 minutes
3. Add all the other savory fillings together into the pan and continue to cook on reduced heat for another 3-5 minutes
4. Crack 4 farm-fresh brown eggs into a medium-size bowl, being careful to not get any shell into the bowl. (Use a smaller glass bowl to transfer the eggs if desired.)
5. Sprinkle black pepper onto the eggs, and scramble thoroughly with a fork. Don't add salt, because it causes the eggs to cook too fast and they will become dry.
6. After the fillings have cooked, transfer them from the pan into another bowl, and wipe out the pan with a paper towel before the next step.
7. Add the rest of the butter and let it melt on medium-low heat.
8. Once the butter has spread evenly throughout the pan, add the eggs gently into the center. They should sizzle a bit when they hit the surface of the pan. If not, turn up the heat just a bit, but not too much because you don't want to overcook the eggs.
9. As the eggs cook, use a silicone spatula or omelette turner (recommended) to gently lift up the edges of the omelette and let the uncooked egg on top flow under the edge of the spatula to the surface of the pan. This will help cook the eggs thoroughly and makes the omelette a bit fluffier.
10. Before the top surface of the scrambled eggs have cooked through all the way, spoon the fillings onto one half of the pan and spread them into an even layer.
11. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the fillings evenly.
12. Using your spatula or omelette turner, gently lift up the other half of the scrambled eggs, which by now has cooked mostly solid and fold it over the top of the fillings.
13. Allow the omelette to continue cooking for another 2 minutes until the cheese has thoroughly melted.
14. Divide into two portions with the spatula, then plate and serve along with any sides you've prepared. Enjoy!