Trio of Omelette

Sifting through the way eggs are used in different cuisines one thing was evident and that was that so many of them had their own version of what we would call an omelette. I decided to showcase this by choosing three of the more famous variations. The first version had to be the classic French omelette. There seems to be a lot of discussion on what makes a true French omelette, but from my research this omelette is only just cooked and when folded over often is still a touch runny on the inside. I did choose to fill this omelette which may stray form the classic style but is an accepted addition. I mixed through a blend of parsley, chives and tarragon to start with and filled it with a light layer of ashed chevre. The second of the three was the stalwart and icon of the Spanish tapas menu, tortilla patatas. This omelette has a layer of potato and onion at the base and is cooked in the pan and finished off under the grill. I added a slice or two of chorizo sausage to add a little spice. It really is a great simple Spanish dish and the key is not over cooking the potatoes so they hold their form and cooking evenly by finishing off under the grill. The last omelette is the Japanese Tamagoyaki, a rolled omelette flavoured with soy sauce, mirin and sometimes dashi. The key to this dish is definitely technique. The Japanese use a square pan and pour a little of the mixture down and then roll to one end of the pan and repeat this process rolling the new omelette into the previous one until you have a roll with many layers. I topped this with freshly grated daikon raddish and a sliver of shittake mushroom. I would not ever serve these three together in a restaurant as their flavours vary so much, however it was very interesting to sample these different takes on the humble omelette.