Omelette Exploration 7: Home-made Microwave Omelette

This marks the last of my postings about omelettes, that is, until someone writes in with a method to try or I come across one in a newspaper.  You may think that a microwaved omelette goes against much of what I have been saying in these postings.  However, like all of the entries, it does provide an opportunity to do something a little different.  I emphasise the 'home-made' because this is no bought ready meal, it still needs work from you throughout.  Of course, many of the basic rules apply - butter and good, free-range eggs are essential.  There is a risk that the omelette will stick to the bowl, so some pre-buttering of the sides is a good idea to avoid that.

There are some challenges with microwaving an omelette.  One is that it cooks in a ring as the omelette spins, this tends to happen even if you use a square dish or bowl.  Thus, you are likely to move the egg liquid to the side, but be careful not to end up turning it into scrambled egg.  You may actually want to put a smaller, upturned dish in the centre so that the liquid moves to the outside.  Obviously this will create a ring omelette which might be a nice surprise for people.  Perhaps put some coleslaw (I recommend mixing some savoy cabbage in with the white or red cabbage to give a fresh, slightly peppery taste) or something like mixed beans, in the centre.

The microwaved omelette will end up very light in colour.  You do not get the nice browning on the outside that you get with a pan-made omelette,  However, it is very light in texture too and that can also be a pleasant change for eaters.  If I am going to include fillings like ham, then I keep to a shallow bowl, otherwise you can end up with the filling sinking entirely to the bottom.  Cheese will remain in the liquid so is probably the best filling for such an omelette; light herbs will also work.  With cheese, I like to put in a few crumbs of mild blue cheese, like St. Agur,  Stilton can be used sparingly, but if it is true Stilton rather than a mild or smooth version, it can make the whole omelette far too bitter.

The one advantage of the microwave omelette is the convenience, there is less cleaning up to do as you can cook it in the bowl you stirred it in.  Like the 'bliny' omelette, it can also be useful in terms of providing a number of small omelettes for people to help themselves, or with the ring, as I have noted, give a different way of putting the omelette on the plate with other food, rather than the classic, semi-circle envelope.