Matt’s Morsels: Egg-static for omelettes

| Staff Columnist

I’ll be honest: I don’t like breakfast. It mostly stems from my hatred of cereal and milk, but that’s a different fight for a different day. What I do love about breakfast is omelettes. Endlessly customizable and satisfying, omelettes are the blank canvas that early morning food art is made on. Even when you fail to properly flip an omelette, you end up with the same taste, which is amazing. Let me run you through making what should replace cardboard-coated in milk and sold to us by animated animals who seem to have an unhealthy addiction to their product.

IMG_20181122_113455Matthew Wallace | Student Life

Eggs

First up are the eggs. A good omelette needs enough structure to hold all of your ingredients while not taking over the dish taste-wise. Think of the eggs as the drummer in your rock band of a dish. Three eggs is what I see as the ideal amount. Enough to support a healthy amount of fillings without being distracting.

Cheese

I won’t cheese shame you here. Use whatever cheese you like. The pre-shredded kind has fillers that prevent clumping and is readily available, but take away from its meltability. Getting a block of cheese and shredding it yourself gives much more control and increases that all important cheese stretch, but it takes more time and money. Do whatever you like, and don’t be afraid to explore with different types and combinations of cheeses.

Fillings

The star of the show. The Freddie Mercury of your band. This is where your creativity shines brightest. Vegetables and meat are married in a beautiful ceremony. I suggest making more fillings than will fit so you can put the surplus on top of your finished dish. Plus, it makes plating more visually appealing.

Cooking

The most intimidating part for sure. Cook all your fillings first, usually the meat and then dump your veggies in after to take advantage of whatever fats and flavor are in your pan. I am particular to adding spinach, mushrooms, peppers (green, yellow and red), as well as jalapenos to any ground meat. Seasoning all these ingredients is important as they carry all the flavor.

After those are safely tucked away, it’s time to tackle the eggs. Crack and whisk until uniform. Some people add salt; some don’t. I don’t as there is enough salt in other parts of the omelette to compensate. Get your clean pan on a medium high burner and add some butter. Once heated, add your eggs; and once everything is settled, add the cheese on the still cooking eggs. Once you see the edges on the eggs start to solidify and the middle become more solid, add your fillings on one side with more cheese on top to seal everything in. Now comes the critical part: the flip. Using your spatula, go around the edges of the eggs to make sure every part can be lifted. Make sure to be steady as if your eggs aren’t cooked enough, it could split, and you’ll end up with scrambled eggs.

For the flip, slowly fold the side without fillings onto the other side. If everything has gone right, the eggs will fold easily, but the outside will be structurally sound. Remove and plate with, you guessed it, more cheese on top of your omelette along with your extra fillings.

Eating

Be sure to document your creation, as it’ll take some practice to become an omelette expert.

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