A close, muggy, rainy week has passed. The gardens are looking greener than I can remember and a just-rained smell of earth fills the air above the marshes where I walk. One minute it’s bright, cheery blue skies, the next a soul-soaking downpour. I spend this time of year not knowing whether to wear flip-flops or a winter coat and I am just as indecisive in the kitchen. It feels too close for me to want to spend much time cooking, but the colder moments make me crave something warm and flavourful. So I make omelettes.
Whipped and puffed like frying pan soufflés, deeply laden frittatas, or paint-pot yellow folded French ones, omelettes are my fallback in the kitchen and these are the two I come back to: a classic French omelette flavoured with delicate green herbs (I eat it just as it is but it is easily added to if you are after something a little heartier), and an Indian one that is a riot of flavour and colour.
There is an art to cooking omelettes. Firstly, the quality of eggs you use is absolutely key, so buy the best you can afford. Healthy hens make for brighter yolks and more vibrant omelettes. Once the eggs are in the pan, I use a fork or a spoon to move them around and create curdy little waves of egg, tipping the pan to let the egg fall into any gaps I’ve created. I always find it useful to remember that eggs cook at such a low temperature that you need to be confident to undercook them a little. They will carry on cooking once out of the pan, so by the time they are brought to the table they will be perfect.
Green herb omelette
This is my desert island omelette. A grating of cheese is a welcome addition, or you can also use this as a base for one of the fillings in the five combination listed at the bottom.
Serves 2
4 eggs
2 small bunches of soft herbs (a mix of mint, parsley, dill, chives, tarragon, chervil, basil)
Butter or olive oil
Salt and black pepper
1 Gather together all of your ingredients and equipment. You will need a large nonstick frying pan for the omelettes. Crack your eggs into a bowl, add a generous pinch of salt and a good grinding of freshly ground black pepper, then whisk with a fork. Finely chop all the herbs and add them to the eggs.
2 Heat your frying pan on a medium heat. Once it’s hot, add the butter or oil, allow it to bubble, then lift and tilt the pan so the butter covers the surface.
3 Put the pan back on the hob. Then, with the fork still nearby, pour the eggs into the pan and allow them to sit untouched for 20 seconds or so, until they begin to set. Now use the fork to pull the omelette away from the edge of the pan into the middle, angling the pan so the egg runs back into the bit you have just exposed. Do this another five or six times in different places so you have undulating waves of sunshine-yellow egg.
4 Now leave your omelette to cook until it is almost set, which should take about a minute or two.
5 If you are going to fill your omelette, now is the time. Scatter the fillings on one half of the omelette, then flip the other side over to form a half-moon shape and cook for another 30 seconds.
6 Your omelette should be just set in the middle, still soft and curdy, and just turning golden in patches on the outside. Once it’s perfect, slide the omelette out of the pan on to a warm plate and serve immediately with a shock of dressed salad.
Mustard seed and tomato masala omelette (main picture)
I ate this on repeat on a trip to Kerala a few years ago and it has become one of those recipes that makes its way into my kitchen so often that it feels like a good friend. It makes an amazing quick supper, without compromising on interest and flavour. Sometimes I throw in some leftover sliced potatoes – most other vegetables that blend well with a bit of spice would be welcome, too. We also eat it for a weekend brunch paired with a spoonful of avocado and a cup of coffee or milky chai.
Serves 2
1 tsp black mustard seeds
A pinch of cumin seeds
A pinch of ground turmeric
A pinch of garam masala
A handful of cherry tomatoes
1 bunch of spring onions
A small bunch of coriander
1 green chilli
4 eggs
A knob of butter
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
A pinch of sea salt
1 Heat a nonstick pan on a medium heat and add the mustard and cumin seeds. Keep moving them around the pan until they start smelling toasty and the mustard seeds begin to pop. Next, add the turmeric and garam masala and take the pan off the heat.
2 Tip the spices into a bowl. Roughly quarter the tomatoes before adding them to the bowl. Finely chop the spring onions, then finely chop the stalks of the coriander and roughly chop the leaves. Finally, chop the green chilli finely and add this and all the chopped vegetables and herbs to the bowl. Mix well, then scoop out a third of the mixture and put to one side.
3 Break the eggs into the bowl, add a good pinch of sea salt and mix everything together with a fork. You can either cook one larger omelette or two smaller ones. Either way, heat a suitably sized nonstick frying pan and add the butter. Swirl it around to make sure the pan is well covered with butter, then add all or half of the mixture, swirling the eggs around for 30 seconds or so. Then pull the eggs away from the side of the pan, tipping the pan to let the still-runny egg fill the gap. After 30 seconds leave it to set for a minute. Now slide it on to a plate and top with the rest of the tomato mixture. Finish with a little lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Flavour map: five favourite fillings in different combinations
An omelette is one of the ultimate quick dinners. These are my 5 favourite omelette fillings. With your main veg, you want a backup veg, an accent flavour, a backup flavour and then to finish with something rich. Add something from each and you can’t go far wrong.
1 Slice and fry a red onion until soft. Add a handful of shredded greens. Add the leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Finally, add a crumbling of goat’s cheese.
2 Sauté 100g of greens. Add half a mashed avocado, then tear in a few basil leaves. Add the zest and juice of ½ a lemon, and finish with a crumbling of feta.
3 Finely slice and sauté some asparagus with 1 finely sliced courgette. Mix in 1 tbsp pesto, grate in the zest of ½ a lemon and finish with a little crumbling of goat’s cheese.
4 Cook a pear with a handful of broad beans. Add a small handful of chopped mint. Squeeze in the juice of ½ a lemon anf add a glug of good olive oil.
5 Fry 1 small leek until soft. Add a handful of mushrooms and the leaves from a few sprigs of tarragon or dill. Add 1 tsp mustard and a small grating of cheddar.
