How to season a pan, make a perfect omelette, and cook fluffy souffles! Includes recipes for french omelette, spanish omelette, souffle omelette, bechamel sauce, and cheese souffle.
Ingredients
Eggs are a wonderfully easy, nutritious and economical meal. At around 22 cents each, you can create a meal for less than a dollar. Add some bulk by adding up with cooked mushrooms, shredded parmesan, chopped herbs and leftover vegies.
You can also eat omelettes as a dessert with the addition of some sugar to the mix and some stewed fruit as a filling. Omelettes are also a great "survival " meal for beginner cooks and students - nutritious, cheap, and fast.
Method
Start by buying the freshest eggs with the longest use-by date as eggs quickly lose freshness when stored at room temperature. Fresh eggs retain a thick white, which can be whipped to hold tiny bubbles of air - these bubbles then expand when heated to give the miraculous size to souffle omelettes and souffles.
Chefs usually recommend keeping a pan especially just for omelettes. If you have a standard pan, without any sort of protective coating, it should be seasoned first. This process draws every bit of moisture off the metal, and creates a smooth continuous surface on the pan. Here's how it's done.
- Cover the bottom of the pan with 1.5 cm of oil, and add enough salt to make a paste.
- Leave it overnight, allowing the salt to absorb any moisture.
- The next morning, put it on a low to medium heat, and cook it until the oil starts to smoke.
- Take it off the heat, and then empty it out. (It's hot, so don't empty it into plastic bags or containers.)
- Wipe the pan out well, don't leave any salt behind.
- Before storing it away, wipe it with olive oil (or another vege oil) to stop it rusting.
- When you finish cooking something in your seasoned pan, just wipe it out and re-oil it. If you wash it, you have to season it all over again! Don't panic about the hygiene, your pan should be hot enough each time you cook to kill any germs.
- <b>Important note:</b> Do NOT season treated pans - that's anything with a teflon or other non-stick coating. These don't need seasoning, and the process will probably ruin the coating.
Now, back to the food!
There are 3 main types of omelettes - the classic french omelette, the spanish omelette, and the souffle omelette. (Recipes follow.) There is also a recipe for the perfect cheese souffle.
<b>French Omelette</b> (Serves 1)
<li>Take 2 fresh eggs season with pepper and herbs, salt if you wish.
<li>Beat the eggs lightly with a fork to combine the eggs and yolk.
<li>Grease a non stick pan and wait for the pan to sizzle, then pour the mix into the pan and tip the pan to cover the whole surface with egg.
<li>Using a wooden spoon, move the cooked egg into the centre allowing the uncooked egg to move to the side and cook.
<li>Continue moving the cooked egg until all the liquid is cooked. This should take about 2 minutes.
<li>Add cheese and any precooked filling that you have kept warm.
<li>Fold the omelette gently and tip the pan to allow the omelette to gently slide onto the plate.
<li>Serve with a salad if you wish or chunks of wholegrain toast
<b>Spanish Omelette</b> (Serves 2)
(Unlike the French or souffle omelette the spanish omelette or frittata is served flat.)
<li>Take 4 eggs and whip them gently with flavourings, including saffron and pepper.
<li>Precook some vegetables including small chunks of potato, grilled capsicum and sweet potato. Add the cooked vegetables to the egg mix.
<li>Season the pan with a brush of oil and add the egg and vegetable mix when the pan is hot. Gently distribute the mix evenly and allow it to cook over a low heat until set. The bottom of the omelette should be firm and browned.
<li>Place under a grill and brown gently.
<li>Serve with salad.
<b>Souffle Omelette</b> (Serves 2)
(The souffle omelette is the fanciest of the trio. It involves a little more work but is worth the effort.)
<li>Take 4 eggs and separate. Beat the yolks until thick. Add pepper and 1 tablespoon (20 mls) of milk.
<li>Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, then gently fold the whites into the yolk mix.
<li>Heat your pan and grease with oil or margarine.
<li>Turn the mix into the pan and cook over a medium to low heat for 2 -4 minutes.
<li>Sprinkle some grated cheese over the top of the omelette.
<li>Place under a preheated grill for 1 -2 minute, until the omelette is lightly golden and puffed.
<li>Serve and add extra topping such as mushrooms.
<b>Sweet Souffle Omelettes</b>
<li>For a sweet version, omit the salt and add 1/4 tspns of sugar per egg before mixing the omelette.
<li>Fillings which can be added after serving include:
- 1 bunch of chopped Rhubarb mixed with 1 cup of frozen or fresh blackberries
- 1/4 cup of sugar and a cinnamon stick and cooked until soft. (Remove the cinnamon stick before serving.)
- Sliced fresh strawberries and icing sugar"
<b>Bechamel Sauce</b>
(You need this for the souffle)
<li>Melt 22 grams of butter
<li>Add 22 grams plain flour, cook for 3 - 4 minutes while stirring
<li>Remove from heat and slowly whisk in 250ml (1 cup) wram milk
<li>Return to heat and whisk for 3 - 4 minutes
<li>Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and leave to cool
<b>Cheese Souffle</b>
<li>Take 250ml bechamel sauce, mix in 60 grams of parmesan cheese
<li>Add 4 egg yolks and beat
<li>Whisk 6 egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff
<li>Fold a quarter of the egg whites into the bechamel sauce
<li>Fold the mixture into the remaining egg whites.
<li>Pour into a well-buttered souffle dish
<li>Make a groove around the edge - this will help the souffle rise
<li>Bake at 200C for 15 - 18 minutes.
<li>Serve straight away.
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