Egg-White Omelette … with Great Stuff Inside

J – Life can give us good lessons.

… especially, when we are mindful. Today was a such a day for a lesson with me, Christina and egg-white omelettes. Honestly, I have never been a fan of egg whites, unless I’m using them in Caesar salad dressing. Otherwise, they’re just bland … even meringue. But, we had a whole bunch of egg whites in the fridge. Christina had been baking and making ice cream. Egg whites tend to be left out of those kinds of recipes. Fine by me.

To the “egg-white” point … we wanted to have a healthy breakfast and use up the dozen or so egg whites we had. To the “lesson” point, I was going to have to cook them, since Christina hadn’t had much omelette-cooking practice. I make a really tasty omelette, if I do say so. Now, I just had to get creative about the other ingredients.

I remember Jacques Pepin on television [PBS, no less] long ago demonstrating something guys should know how to do “in the morning” to impress their girlfriend. Yes. Cook an omelette. He’s a French chef, already. What do you expect? The big take-away for me was that omelettes should not be buried in a bunch of heavy stuff. Omelettes are light and fluffy. They take very little time to cook. The seasonings should complement the light eggs, not overpower them. Even more so with egg whites.

Fortunately, we had everything I needed: butter, cream, fresh thyme and scallions, sun-dried tomatoes, salt, pepper and plain goat cheese. The actual cooking time is under 10 minutes from cold pan(s) to serving. So, make sure to prepare “mise en place” or they will overcook. If you have individual, 8” omelette pans, all the better. You can also cook two servings in a 10” saute pan with sloping sides, and then divide it when you serve.

To begin, heat the omelette pans on medium high. While heating, beat the egg whites and the cream well with the herbs, salt and pepper. The cream helps the eggs bind and not release moisture. Add butter to the hot pans, let melt and swirl to coat. Add the beaten eggs in equal amounts to each pan. Lower heat to medium low. Let the eggs get hot, then swirl the pan and, using a heat-proof spatula, tuck some of the liquid egg under the edges all around. Then, smooth and let cook. Add scallions and sun-dried tomatoes halfway through. Crumble the goat cheese and add near the end. Fold omelette in half and turn off heat. Serve on warm plates and garnish with bits of goat cheese and scallion. Voila!

I was moving pretty quickly, but Christina obviously got it. She made an omelette the next day, without any questions. Of course!

Egg-White Omelette … with Great Stuff Inside

Recipe type: Mains

Author: Jim

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 9 to 10 egg whites
• 1 tsp cream or milk
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
• ½ tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
• 3 medium sun-dried tomatoes, small dice
• 1 scallion, green parts only, small dice
• 4 oz plain goat cheese, crumbled, divided

Instructions

1. Use 8” omelette pans, one for each.
2. Heat the omelette pans on medium high.
3. While heating, beat the egg whites and the cream well with the herbs, salt and pepper.
4. Add butter to the hot pans, let melt and swirl to coat. Move quickly.
5. Add the beaten eggs in equal amounts to each pan. Lower heat to medium low.
6. Let the eggs get hot, then swirl the pan and, using a heat-proof spatula, tuck some of the liquid egg under the edges all around. Then, smooth and let cook.
7. Add scallions and sun-dried tomatoes halfway through.
8. Crumble the goat cheese and add near the end.
9. Fold omelette in half and turn off heat.
10. Serve on warm plates and garnish with bits of goat cheese and scallion.
11. Enjoy!

3.1.08

The omelettes were really good. Much better than I expected.

That said, we both missed the yolks. Can’t do much about that …