Perfect Cheese Omelet with Sauteed Mushroom and Thyme Filling
By America's Test KitchenPublished on October 5, 2011
Time
30 minutes
Yield
Serves 1 (filling enough for 2 omelets)
Ingredients
Filling
1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1 small shallot, minced (about 1 tablespoon)2 medium white mushrooms (about 2 ounces), cleaned and cut into slices ¼ inch thick1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves Salt and ground black pepperOmelet
3 large eggs Salt and ground black pepper ½ tablespoon unsalted butter, plus melted butter for brushing finished omelet3 tablespoons very finely grated Gruyère or other cheese of your choiceBefore You Begin
This filling is particularly good when paired with Gruyere. Be sure to prepare the filling before you begin to make the omelet or omelets.
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon butter in medium skillet over medium heat until foaming; add shallot and cook until softened and just beginning to color, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Off heat, stir in thyme leaves and salt and pepper to taste; transfer mixture to small bowl and set aside until ready to use.
- Beat eggs and salt and pepper with fork in small bowl until thoroughly combined.
- Heat butter in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; when foaming subsides and butter just begins to color, pour in eggs. Cook until edges begin to set, 2 to 3 seconds, then, with rubber spatula, stir in circular motion until slightly thickened, about 10 seconds. Following illustration 1, below, use spatula to pull cooked edges in toward center, then tilt pan to one side so that uncooked eggs run to edge of pan. Repeat until omelet is just set but still moist on surface, about 20 to 25 seconds. Sprinkle cheese and filling down center of omelet, perpendicular to handle of skillet.
- Remove skillet from burner. Following illustration 2, use rubber spatula to fold lower third (nearest you) of omelet to center; press gently with spatula to secure seams, maintaining fold.
- Run spatula between outer edge of omelet and pan to loosen. Following illustration 3, jerk pan sharply toward you a few times to slide omelet up far side of pan. Jerk pan again so that 2 inches of unfolded edge folds over itself, or, following illustration 4, use spatula to fold edge over. Invert omelet onto plate. Tidy edges with spatula, brush with melted butter, and serve.
for the filling
for the omelet
Time
30 minutesYield
Serves 1 (filling enough for 2 omelets)Ingredients
Filling
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 small shallot, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
2 medium white mushrooms (about 2 ounces), cleaned and cut into slices ¼ inch thick
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
Salt and ground black pepper
Omelet
3 large eggs
Salt and ground black pepper
½ tablespoon unsalted butter, plus melted butter for brushing finished omelet
3 tablespoons very finely grated Gruyère or other cheese of your choice
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Filling
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 small shallot, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
2 medium white mushrooms (about 2 ounces), cleaned and cut into slices ¼ inch thick
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
Salt and ground black pepper
Omelet
3 large eggs
Salt and ground black pepper
½ tablespoon unsalted butter, plus melted butter for brushing finished omelet
3 tablespoons very finely grated Gruyère or other cheese of your choice
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Filling
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 small shallot, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
2 medium white mushrooms (about 2 ounces), cleaned and cut into slices ¼ inch thick
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
Salt and ground black pepper
Omelet
3 large eggs
Salt and ground black pepper
½ tablespoon unsalted butter, plus melted butter for brushing finished omelet
3 tablespoons very finely grated Gruyère or other cheese of your choice
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
We wanted a foolproof omelet recipe that would produce a creamy, supple omelet with perfectly melted cheese that didn't leak all over the pan. We found that using a good-quality nonstick skillet, cooking the eggs with an on-burner/off-burner technique, grating an easy-melting cheese, and shaping the omelet with the sides of the pan and a heat-resistant rubber spatula gave us the omelet we had been looking for.
Before You Begin
This filling is particularly good when paired with Gruyere. Be sure to prepare the filling before you begin to make the omelet or omelets.
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon butter in medium skillet over medium heat until foaming; add shallot and cook until softened and just beginning to color, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Off heat, stir in thyme leaves and salt and pepper to taste; transfer mixture to small bowl and set aside until ready to use.
- Beat eggs and salt and pepper with fork in small bowl until thoroughly combined.
- Heat butter in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; when foaming subsides and butter just begins to color, pour in eggs. Cook until edges begin to set, 2 to 3 seconds, then, with rubber spatula, stir in circular motion until slightly thickened, about 10 seconds. Following illustration 1, below, use spatula to pull cooked edges in toward center, then tilt pan to one side so that uncooked eggs run to edge of pan. Repeat until omelet is just set but still moist on surface, about 20 to 25 seconds. Sprinkle cheese and filling down center of omelet, perpendicular to handle of skillet.
- Remove skillet from burner. Following illustration 2, use rubber spatula to fold lower third (nearest you) of omelet to center; press gently with spatula to secure seams, maintaining fold.
- Run spatula between outer edge of omelet and pan to loosen. Following illustration 3, jerk pan sharply toward you a few times to slide omelet up far side of pan. Jerk pan again so that 2 inches of unfolded edge folds over itself, or, following illustration 4, use spatula to fold edge over. Invert omelet onto plate. Tidy edges with spatula, brush with melted butter, and serve.
for the filling
for the omelet
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