Omelets: 3 Cooks, 9 Ways
You won’t believe what you can stuff these babies with! Whether you like
Italian (green tomatoes and cheese), savory (carrots and bacon) or light (green
peas and asparagus), you’ll flip for our experts’ creative new combos.
OMELET, GET T Y IMAGES. BATALI, MELANIE DUNEA; HAM & CHEESE AND TOMATOES & MOZZARELLA BY BOYLE & GARDNER; FOOD ST YLING BY LIZA JERNOW;
PROP ST YLING BY SHARON RYAN FOR HALLE Y RESOURCES. GREEN TOMATOES, ALAMY.COM; BASIL, ISTOCKPKHOTO.COM; CARROTS AND BAGEL, GET TY IMAGES.
BY TRACEY SEAMAN Mario Batali
Celebrated chef and restaurateur
Omelets are so simple, you can experiment a lot
with the filling. Explore unexpected vegetables,
seasonings and shapes.
1GREEN TOMATO-AND-PECORINO OMELE T Chop green tomatoes and sauté them with chives in extra-virgin
olive oil until soft. For the filling, use the green tomato
mixture and pecorino-romano cheese.
2FRITTATA SALAD Chop equal parts fresh mint, basil and oregano; mix the greens into the eggs. Cook until
set into a flat “pancake,” then flip to set the other side.
Let cool, then slice into thin strips and toss with escarole,
orange zest and orange segments, a little lemon juice
and zest, extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
3EGG ROLLUPS In a small skillet, cook the beaten eggs— 2 tablespoons at a time—to make lots of thin,
flat omelets. Top each with deli-sliced ham and swiss
cheese or other sandwich fillings and roll up like cigars.
Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap and keep cool. To serve,
slice crosswise, sushi-style, with hot sauce for dipping.
KC Quaretti-Lee
Wife, mother and home cook in Venice,
Florida, and winner of the Real Women
of Philadelphia cooking contest
For a top-quality omelet, buy the freshest
organic eggs available; they have lots more flavor.
Classic Cheese Omelet
Here’s our favorite yummy basic omelet. Read on for tons of fun variations.
In a medium bowl, beat 3 large eggs, 2 tablespoons water and a pinch salt and
pepper with a fork. Mix in 1 teaspoon chopped chives or other herb (optional). In
an 8-inch nonstick skillet, melt 1½ teaspoons unsalted butter over medium-high
heat and pour in the egg mixture. Stir constantly with a rubber spatula, scraping
the bottom of the pan, until the eggs are about two-thirds cooked, about
1 minute. Turn the heat to very low and spread the mixture evenly. Sprinkle
½ cup finely shredded gruyère cheese on top. When the bottom of the omelet
is set, fold it in half to enclose. Serve with buttered toast.
1CARROT-BACON OMELE T Sauté finely grated carrots in butter until softened. Let cool, then add to the eggs
with chopped fresh dill; cook and fold over. Sprinkle
cooked bacon with parmesan and bake; crumble on top.
2SMOKED SALMON OMELET We all love lox and bagels, right? Fill an omelet with cream cheese, finely
chopped red onion and smoked salmon.
3EGG PANINI Cook the eggs with chopped fresh basil; sandwich between slices of crusty bread along with
mozzarella and tomatoes; grill in a panini press.
