A simple omelette

A beautifully cooked French omelette is brown on the outside and fluffy and moist on the inside. It is the easiest thing in the world to get right, and when you do you'll have a standby whenever you need a quick healthy meal. It's also good for anyone elderly as it is easy to digest and an egg is a good source of protein.

Serves one

Ingredients:

3 eggs

Butter or oil

A little cream (optional) 

Variations:

tomatoes

cheese

onions

fresh herbs

dried herbs 

Directions:

1. Heat a little oil or butter, or a mixture of both in a non-stick pan. If you have too much, wipe the pan with a bit of paper towel.

2. Whisk three eggs with salt and pepper and a little cream if you have it (it makes it lighter).

3. Get a serving plate ready by the cooker.

4. When the oil or butter is hot, pour the egg mixture in and leave for about 5 seconds for the bottom to set a little, then start stirring with a non-stick spatula or a wooden spoon. The trick is to keep the eggy fluid moving so that it bubbles up and becomes lighter. You want the omelette to start to look like hilly terrain, and not be flat.

5. Keep cutting the bottom of the omelette with the spatula or spoon to let the egg through to the bottom of the pan. Turn off the heat when you have what looks like an omelette and when it is still wet on top (don't let it dry out - it will continue cooking for a while yet).

6. If you are making a filled omelette, add the topping to the omelette now. Don't add too much, or you will not be able to fold it.

7. Now to get it on the plate! Using the spatula, free up the edges of the omelette, then slide the spatula underneath and bit by bit nudge it out of the pan onto the plate. When it is half on the plate and half in the pan, using the pan and the spatula fold over the half that is in the pan, over the half that is on the plate. You do this by lightly jerking the pan forward so that the omelette literally folds over the half that is on the plate.That's it, it's easy. It should be nice and brown on top (if it is not, you didn't have the oil/butter hot enough).

Variations on an omelette

– Fry some tomato and chopped onion with some chopped fresh herbs in olive oil in a separate pan until they are soft and put it on top of the omelette, then add grated cheese.

– Add fresh chopped parsley, thyme or sage leaves to the egg mixture before frying (or add a quarter teaspoon of mixed herbs).

– Add a teaspoon of horseradish sauce to the egg mixture and whisk.

– Grate parmesan over the finished omelette and put it under the grill.

- Once you know how to cook an omelette, you can vary the ingredients. Choose your favourite ingredients and combine them, from capers to black olives, cherry tomatoes to anchovies, sliced sausage to decent parma ham. Experiment with cheese, anything that grates well or melts will be delicious.