Omelettes are a meal in themselves, especially if they have a generous filling. Instead of serving bacon on the side, put rashers or bits in the folded egg parcel, along with some mature Cheddar cheese. Just be sure to allow enough gentle cooking time for the cheese to melt.

Never be mean with an omelette, because no matter how generous the filling is, it’s still all about the eggs. I never use fewer than three eggs and only ever cook omelettes in butter, believing firmly that they should be made of three generous eggs, and I never add milk or bicarbonate of soda to the mix. Even a fourth egg can be added if they’re on the small side.

A mean omelette is a miserly thing indeed and says a lot about the outlook of the person making it.

The fluffiness you’re after comes from three factors: vigorous whisking, foaming butter, and the right temperature in order to achieve that foam. Bicarb ruins the flavour and texture.

Don’t be alarmed at the cup of grated Cheddar in the recipe. Once grated, it doesn’t take a great deal of cheese to fill up a cup measure.

(Makes 2 omelettes)

Ingredients

6 extra large fresh eggs

Butter, generously

Salt and black or white pepper

6 rashers of bacon

A cup of grated mature Cheddar cheese (½ cup for each omelette)

Method

Fry the bacon rashers in a touch of butter in a pan until done the way you like them. But hard bacon would be a tad too crunchy for an omelette filling.

Grate the cheese and have it to hand.

For each omelette, break three of the eggs into a bowl and season with salt and pepper, but don’t whisk them yet.

Put a generous amount of butter in a good frying pan (preferably not too wide as a more compact pan suits an omelette best) and melt until it’s foaming hot.

Whisk the eggs vigorously and immediately pour them into the pan while still whisking.

Immediately tilt the pan left and right, fore and back, for the egg to run around, while using a spatula in your other hand to pull the egg in from the sides while the raw eggs pours to the part you’ve just cleared. 

Turn the heat down lowish and scatter (half of) the grated cheese over the eggs, evenly to encourage it to melt.

Place three fried bacon rashers on top, near the front edge of the omelette.

When you can see that the cheese is melting, fold half of the omelette over from the back end of the pan to the front, quickly but carefully.

Let it cook for a couple of minutes more on a low heat.

To flip or not to flip? I do turn it over, with a spatula, in one deft move. 

Straight onto plates is the only way, and if you’re cooking one at a time for two people, let them start eating theirs while you do yours. Season with salt and pepper on the plate. DM

Tony Jackman is Galliova Food Writer 2023, jointly with TGIFood columnist Anna Trapido. Order his book, foodSTUFF, here

Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.

This dish is photographed on a plate by Mervyn Gers Ceramics.