Alpine Omelet Recipes

PERFECT OMELET

Steps:

• Beat the eggs: Soak 3 large eggs for 5 minutes in hot-not scalding-tap water. This will ensure that the omelet cooks faster, and the faster an omelet cooks, the more tender it's going to be. Crack the eggs into a small bowl or large bowl-shaped coffee mug. Season with a pinch of fine salt. Beat the eggs gently with a fork.
• TIP: I prefer a fork to a whisk for omelets because I don't want to work air into the eggs: Air bubbles are insulators and can slow down cooking if you're not careful.
• Heat the pan: Heat a 10-inch nonstick saute pan over medium to high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon room-temperature unsalted butter. Once melted, spread the butter around the pan with a basting brush to ensure coverage.
• TIP: Heat your pan empty for a few minutes before adding the butter: Even a nonstick surface is pocked with microscopic pores that eggs can fill and grab hold of. Heat expands the metal, squeezing these openings shut.
• Add the eggs: Pour the eggs into the center of the pan and stir vigorously with a silicone spatula for 5 seconds. (Actually, it's not so much a matter of stirring with the spatula as holding the spatula relatively still and moving the pan around to stir the eggs.)
• Let them cook: As soon as curds begin to form (that's the stuff that looks like scrambled eggs), lift the pan and tilt it around until the excess liquid pours off the top of the curds and into the pan. Then use the spatula to shape the edge and make sure the omelet isn't sticking. Move the spatula around the edge of the egg mixture to help shape it into a round and loosen the edge. Then walk away. That's right-let that omelet sit unaccosted for 10 long seconds so it can develop a proper outer crust. Don't worry: Your patience will be rewarded.
• Finish the omelet: Time for the "jiggle" step: Simply shake the pan gently to make sure the omelet is indeed free of the pan. Lift up the far edge of the pan and snap it back toward you. Then use the spatula to fold over the one-third facing you.
• Change your grip on the pan handle from an overhand to an underhand and move to the plate, which you might want to lube with just a brief brushing of butter to make sure things don't bind up in transit. Slide the one-third farthest from you onto the plate and then ease the fold over. Imagine that you're making a tri-fold wallet out of eggs-because that's exactly what you're doing. And just ease the pan over. There, that wasn't so hard.

OMELET

Steps:

• Crack eggs into a medium bowl. Add 1 tablespoon water, and salt and pepper. Whisk with a fork until egg whites are incorporated into yolks. Mix in herbs, if using.
• Place a 8- to 9-inch skillet (preferably nonstick or seasoned carbon steel) over high heat. Melt butter until bubbling subsides.
• Pour in egg mixture and reduce heat to medium. With the back of a fork or a heatproof rubber spatula, whisk eggs around skillet until the bottom begins to set. This takes only a few seconds. Add any fillings, if using.
• Tilt skillet and either bang or flip egg over itself. Use fork or spatula if necessary to complete folding in half or thirds. Angle the skillet and a serving plate together, and flip omelet onto plate.

ALPINE OMELET

Steps:

• In a small bowl, soark fruit bits in the water and lemon juice for several hours or overnight. Drain fruit and reserve liquid.
• In a small pan, melt 1 tablespoon margarine over medium-high heat. Add cornstarch, stirring quickly. Stir in honey and the water from the fruit. Stir until the mixture is thick and smooth. Add fruit and simmer on low heat while making the omelet.
• In a large bowl, whip together flour, eggs, half and half, and nutmeg until frothy. Cover bowl with a towel and place in refrigerator for 15 minutes. Remove and whip mixture once more.
• Turn heat to medium high under a large frying pan. Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons of margarine and add egg mixture. Cover, turn heat to low, and cook for 7 to 8 minuntes- until omelet is light brown on the bottom.
• With a wooden spoon, break the omelet into bite sized pieces and turn them over. Turn heat off and allow egg mixture to beome firm on the bottom.
• Serve with fruit mixture.
• Note: Soaking and refrigeration time not included in prep or cooking time.

MY BIG FAT GREEK OMELET

Steps:

• Heat a 12-inch non-stick skillet over low heat. (Use a 10-inch skillet if you halve the recipe to serve 2 instead of 4.) Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix tomatoes, 1/2 tsp. oregano, 1/4 tsp. salt, and pepper to taste. Stir in feta.
• In a medium bowl, whisk eggs together, then stir in spinach, 1/2 tsp. oregano, 1/4 tsp. salt, and pepper to taste. A few minutes before cooking omelet, add oil to the pan, and increase heat to medium-high. Heat until wisps of smoke start to rise from the pan. Add the egg mixture to the skillet. Using a plastic or wooden spatula to push back the eggs that have set, tilt the pan and let the uncooked egg mixture run onto the empty portion of the pan. Continue pushing back cooked eggs, tilting the pan and letting uncooked egg mixture flow onto the empty portion of the pan until omelet is moist but fully cooked, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low; pour the tomato mixture over half of the omelet. Using a slotted, flat spatula or turner, carefully fold the untopped half over the filling. Use the turner to slide the omelet onto a cutting board. Let stand a minute or two for the filling to warm.
• Cut the omelet into 4 wedges and serve immediately.

SOUFFLE OMELET (PUFFY OMELET)

Steps:

• Beat egg whites until frothy.
• Add water and salt; continue beating about a minute or until stiff peaks form.
• Beat yolks at high speed of electric mixer until thick and lemon colored (about 5 minutes).
• Fold yolks into whites.
• Heat butter in a 10 inch skillet with an oven proof handle.
• Pour in egg mixture, mounding it a little higher on the sides.
• Cook over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until eggs are puffed and set and the bottom is golden brown.
• Place skillet in a 325 degree (163 celcius) oven; bake for 10 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Make a shallow cut off center of the omelet.
• Place your fillers on the larger half of the omelet.
• Fold the smaller half over the fillers.
• Slip omelet onto a warmed plate.

ULTIMATE FRENCH OMELETTE

Steps:

• Get everything ready. Warm a 20cm (measured across the top) non-stick frying pan on a medium heat. Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them with a fork so they break up and mix, but not as completely as you would for scrambled egg. With the heat on medium-hot, drop one knob of butter into the pan. It should bubble and sizzle, but not brown. Season the eggs with the parmesan and a little salt and pepper, and pour into the pan.
• Let the eggs bubble slightly for a couple of seconds, then take a wooden fork or spatula and gently draw the mixture in from the sides of the pan a few times, so it gathers in folds in the centre. Leave for a few seconds, then stir again to lightly combine uncooked egg with cooked. Leave briefly again, and when partly cooked, stir a bit faster, stopping while there's some barely cooked egg left. With the pan flat on the heat, shake it back and forth a few times to settle the mixture. It should slide easily in the pan and look soft and moist on top. A quick burst of heat will brown the underside.
• Grip the handle underneath. Tilt the pan down away from you and let the omelette fall to the edge. Fold the side nearest to you over by a third with your fork, and keep it rolling over, so the omelette tips onto a plate - or fold it in half, if that's easier. For a neat finish, cover the omelette with a piece of kitchen paper and plump it up a bit with your fingers. Rub the other knob of butter over to glaze. Serve immediately.

ALPINE OMELET (CHOLERMUES)

Steps:

• 1. In a small bowl, soak fruit bits with water and lemon juice for several hours or overnight. Drain fruit and reserve liquid.
• 2. In a small pan, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat. Add cornstarch, stirring quickly. Stir in syrup or honey and the water from the fruit. Stir until mixture is thick and smooth. Add fruit and simmer on low heat while making the omelet.
• 3. In a large bowl, whip together flour, eggs, half-and-half, and nutmeg until frothy. Cover bowl with a towel and place in refrigerator for 15 minutes. Remove and whip mixture once more.
• 4. Turn heat to medium high under a large frying pan. Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter and add egg mixture. Cover, turn heat to low, and cook for 7 to 8 minutes-until omelet is light brown on the bottom. 5. With a wooden spoon, break the omelet into bite-sized pieces and turn them over. Turn heat off and allow egg mixture to become firm on the bottom.
• 5. Serve immediately with stewed fruits.

APPLE CINNAMON OMELET

Steps:

• In a small nonstick skillet, saute the apple, sugar and cinnamon in 1 tablespoon butter. Remove from skillet and set aside., In the same skillet, melt remaining butter over medium-high heat. Whisk the eggs, water, salt and pepper. Add egg mixture to skillet (mixture should set immediately at edges)., As eggs set, push cooked edges toward the center, letting uncooked portion flow underneath. When the eggs are set, spoon apple mixture on one side; fold other side over filling. Slide omelet onto a plate. Serve with whipped cream.