Making an Amazing Omelet

In the first Peachland Passions novel, heroine, Monya, owns Walking Walrus Café. She is famous for her amazing omelets.

“I see you’ve discovered Peachland’s best kept secret.”

“Oh?” Brett’s lips quirked up. “What’s that?”

“The Walking Walrus. No better breakfast in the Okanagan.”

“Yeah? All I’ve had a chance to try are the muffins. I’ll admit, those are pretty great.”

“Try one of the omelets next time. It will change your life.”

“That good? Making a mental note,” Brett said, and grinned at the younger man.

There are a lot of great reasons to love omelets. They are healthy and delicious. They can contain pretty much any ingredient you have handy. You can either pre-plan and purchase specific ingredients for your omelet, or you can serve it stuffed with whatever you have -- from leftover ham, to the last bit of cheese and whatever veggies are in the refrigerator. It is an incredibly inexpensive menu option. Mostly, though, omelets are amazingly quick and easy to cook. Even a beginner chef can make one.

There are two ways to serve an omelet, folded like they do in America, or rolled, like in France.

Folding is definitely easier, but rolling is completely attainable, too. In my opinion, rolled omelets look more professional, but unless you get your ingredients spread evenly throughout, a rolled omelet does risk having end bites which contain nothing but egg.

To make a great omelet, first you need to select and prepare your ingredients. Here is a list of good options to try:

Grated cheese. Any hard variety is worth experimenting with -- swiss, gouda, cheddar are some fail safe options.

Meats:

Diced, cooked ham.

Cooked real bacon bits.

Chorizo Sausage

Cooked diced breakfast sausage

Cooked Sirloin tips

Smoked salmon

Cooked shrimp

Diced vegetables such as:

Mushrooms

Tomatoes (I like to use grape or cherry tomatoes best)

Sweet bell peppers of different colour varieties

Broccoli

Asparagus

Spinach (cooked or uncooked - chef's choice)

Diced celery

Minced Raw Onion

Chopped Green Onion or Scallions

Cubed, cooked potatoes (hashbrowns)

Seasonings:

Fresh or dried herbs

Salt and Pepper

Cayenne Pepper

Toppings:

Soft Cheeses like Cottage Cheese, processed cheese slices, or Feta

Sauces such as salsa or Hollandaise

Once you have your filler selected, you will need:

A frying pan or skillet

Cooking oil, butter, or non-stick spray

Spatula

Bowl and whisk or fork

Eggs

Step One:

Turn the heat on your burner to medium. Add roughly a teaspoon of oil to your pan and pre-heat.

Sauté all raw vegetables until medium soft. You don't want them to be soggy, but you don't want to be crunching on celery inside your omelet, either. Do not sauté tomatoes or spinach.

Remove the vegetables from your pan and set aside.

Step Two:

Add a second teaspoonful of oil to skillet and pre-heat. While heating, crack eggs into bowl and scramble with the fork or whisk. You may also choose to mix in a teaspoon of cottage cheese or a splash of milk. Some people feel this helps the omelet become fluffy and light. Monya routinely does add a dash of milk and also a touch of cottage cheese to her eggs.

The number of eggs used depends on you. Walking Walrus Cafe omelets are three-egg omelets. For a skinny version, try one egg plus two egg whites. Add egg mixture to heated pan and swirl until egg mix is even coating the skillet.

Step Three:

Cook until bottom of omelet is firm, then using your spatula, flip eggs over like you were cooking a pancake.

Step Four:

Sprinkle your chosen filling ingredients evenly over eggs. If you plan to fold your omelet, only add ingredients to one side of the eggs. You will then flip the side which does not have any ingredients on it over like a lid. Cook until golden brown on one side, then flip and cook until golden brown on the other side.

If you plan to roll you omelet, sprinkle your ingredients evenly across the entire egg pancake. Allow any cheese to begin to melt, then use your spatula to lift one-third of the omelet and lay that on top like a lid, then lift the other one-third and lay it on top again. Next, you will plate your omelet by bending each end of the omelet under and placing the rest of the omelet seam-side down on top of each fold.

Step Five:

Top with seasoning, sauces or garnish and add accompaniments. Monya serves all her omelets with a choice of toast and hashbrown potatoes or a seasonal fresh fruit cup. You may request sliced tomatoes in place of hashbrowns for a healthier option.

Omelet Combinations at the Walking Walrus Café:

Cheese and Onion: This is the grated hard cheese of your choice plus chopped green onion. Top with fresh cracked pepper and sprinkle with dried Italian herbs mix.

Ham and Cheddar: This contains diced ham and grated cheddar plus diced raw onion. Can add mushrooms for an optional taste experience.

Farmer's Favorite: Add all the meat and cheese you can imagine plus mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes.

Mediterranean: Inside the omelet add mushrooms, tomatoes, green peppers, onions and just enough grated mozzarella cheese to make it stick together. Top with a smear of soft feta cheese and sprinkle with dried Italian herb mix and fresh cracked pepper. Alternatively, skip the mozzarella, crumble hard feta inside the omelet, and top with sprinkled feta and dried Italian herb mix.

Sailor's Special: Smoked salmon, steamed asparagus, raw onion, green pepper, topped with hollandaise sauce. Or, substitute crumbled feta for the hollandaise.

Rancher's Choice: Seasoned sirloin tips, pan-roasted cubed potatoes, plus onion, mushroom, and cheddar cheese. Topped with fresh cracked black pepper and diced green onion.

Vegetarian: Go crazy with your choice of veggies and cheeses. Top with salsa for a spicy kick.