I had no idea when I completed my studies in the commercial food industry that there would be some food items, I would make so many times. One such item was an omelet.
In the early years of my career, my first position was a short order chef. It all sounded pretty easy until it came to the weekends. On Sunday morning alone, you could use anywhere from 90-120 DOZEN eggs. A large percentage of them were made into omelets with various fillings. All this would be made and served in the course of 4-5 hours as individual breakfasts in the hotel restaurant. That job definitely taught you the perseverance you would need to survive in the industry.
Omelets have a long history dating back to 16th century France. Most are made with just simple egg and dairy ingredients. The fluffiest omelets use whole eggs or all egg whites, which are beaten with a small measure of cream, milk or water. I even recall adding just a tiny bit of pancake batter to give them more body.
Legend has it that when Napoleon and his army were travelling through the south of France, they spent one night near Bessieres. Napoleon ate an omelet prepared by a local cook and enjoyed it so much that he ordered the townspeople to gather all the eggs in the village and prepare a gigantic omelet for his army the next day. Since 1973, every year on the Monday following Easter, people in Bessieres, France make a giant omelet, using 15,000 fresh eggs.
I have added some pictures of this huge omelet as well as one of a cook dumping eggshells in a pile.
The recipe I am including has everything it takes to make a great flavored omelet.
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- 100 gm frozen, hashbrown potatoes
- 4 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled
- 1/4 sweet onion, diced
- 10 fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 cup refried beans
- 150 gm Monterey Jack w/ Jalapeno cheese, shredded
- 2-3 green onions, sliced
- 4 eggs
- sea salt & pepper to taste
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 Tbsp milk or heavy cream
Ingredients
Omelet Fillings
Omelets
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- On a large griddle, place frozen hashbrowns & spray with cooking spray. Cover with a lid & cook until golden then flip over & fry a little longer. Remove from griddle & set aside.
- Place bacon on griddle & cook until crispy. Set on paper towels to drain the grease then chop into crumbles. Set aside.
- Place the onions & mushrooms on the griddle in the bacon drippings & cook on medium-high for 10 minutes or until the mushrooms are golden brown & the onion is tender. Remove from pan & set aside.
- Using an 8-inch baking dish turned upside down, form 2 'foil pans' with aluminum paper. Spray the inside of each one with cooking spray.
- In a bowl, whisk eggs, cornstarch & milk until well blended; season with sea salt & pepper, to taste. Set 'foil pans' on the medium-high heated griddle. Divide the egg mixture into each of the 'foil pans', swirling so the pan is evenly coated with the egg.
- Once the egg is starting to set, sprinkle a small amount of cheese on top of each egg mixture then divide the hashbrowns & refried beans & spoon over each omelet. Next, top each omelet with half of the onion/mushroom mixture & a sprinkle of green onions & a bit more cheese.
- 'Cover' The griddle with a large baking sheet to help 'steam' the omelets. This will only take a few minutes. Remove each 'foil pan' & place the omelets on serving plates. Roll into customary omelet shape if preferred.
- Top each with remaining cheese & green onion if preferred. Serve immediately.
- Omelet is the standard spelling in American English. The British spelling, omelette, is actually the modern French spelling.