Make a One Pan Omelet
Prepare, cook, and eat your omelet from the same pan, and no need to wash it when you're done (unless you're finicky about such things).
Ingredients
- Eggs (3 per person)
- Filling ingredients (optional)
- Cooking oil
Steps
- Pour a good, healthy cooking oil into a non-stick pan about a foot in diameter; enough at least to coat the bottom. You can maybe skip this step if you really trust the teflon.
- Crack your eggs on the edge of the pan or with anything else including your knuckle, and break them into the pan.
- Whip the eggs with chopsticks or any plastic or wooden utensil; metal would scratch the teflon finish. About one minute is usually enough to get the eggs to a uniform consistency. Of course the oil gets thoroughly mixed in with the eggs too, but it doesn't seem to matter.
- Put the pan on medium heat. Cook until at least half the top is cooked, usually 5 to 10 minutes.
- Flip the omelet to cook the other side, using a plastic Flip an Egg Without Using a Spatula, or chopsticks, or even, if you dare, by tossing it into the air in such a way that it lands the opposite side down.
- Add any other ingredients at this point: pre-grilled Chop an Onion or mushrooms, or some slices of cheese, on top of the omelet.
- Continue cooking for another few minutes; if the top was already cooked before you flipped it, another minute should be sufficient to brown it nicely.
- Fold it over if you wish, especially if there's cheese on it, as it helps to melt the cheese. You might want to let it sit for a few minutes before eating, or microwave it for 30 seconds to finish cooking the filling without risk of scorching the omelet (the latter approach, of course, eliminates the "one pan" advantage, since you cannot microwave anything in a metal container).
- Eat with a plastic fork or chopsticks. Wipe out any remaining crumbs with a paper towel, shirt, or whatever, or wash it in mild Castile soap.
Tips
- 3 eggs is usually a pretty good meal for one person, but you may be more or less hungry.
- Olive oil makes an excellent cooking oil. Avoid those labeled "virgin" or "extra virgin" unless you are sure you like the stronger flavor.
- Free-range organic eggs are preferred by some people rather than mass-produced factory farm eggs.
Warnings
- Cook the eggs completely to avoid taxing your immune system with Salmonella. 6 minutes per egg minimum was suggested by another wikiHow author.
- If you cook over a wood stove with the pan directly over the flame, you'll have a coat of soot on the bottom of the pan. Take that into consideration before setting the pan on your lap, or the table, or anything else where sticky black dust could be a problem.
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References
- This research was made possible, in part, by a land grant from the City of the Sun, though the specifics of the research were not coordinated nor endorsed by COSF.
