Spinach omelette:
In THE BATTLE OF THE GRAINS, rice won with oats, wheat, maize/corn and quinoa coming next in the poll.
Now it's the turn of omelettes - or should I say omelets? - to do battle. An omelette is a dish made from eggs and butter (or oil) in a frying pan. Usually a filling or two or maybe even three are added to the omelette in its cooking. This poll is all about omelette fillings.
An omelette, despite its French name, can be traced back to ancient Persia. In her book Breakfast: A History, Heather Arndt Anderson argued that an omelette is "nearly indistinguishable" from the Iranian dish of kookoo sabzi made from whipped eggs with various ingredients folded in. (I'm going to buy that book because I love a breakfast!)
Many popular omelettes have more than one filling. The classic Spanish omelette, sometimes known as a Spanish tortilla, is an omelette made with eggs, potatoes and often onions. I do love a Spanish omelette, though it's best served in Spain.
Then, there's the Denver omelette filled with ham, onions, bell peppers and sometimes cheese.
There's also the omelette de la mère Poulard, made famous by La Mère Poulard hotel in the French Normandy island of Mont Saint-Michel once frequented by Ernest Hemingway and Yves Saint Laurent, in which guests were served an omelette as an appetiser to give time for the hotel kitchen to rustle up a main meal for its dining guests - the island's changing tides made it difficult for the hotel to predict the number of diners each night. (Mont Saint-Michel is a fascinating and spectacular island though it's a very big tourist hotspot.)
And finally there's the Arnold Bennett omelette, named after the English author, an omelette filled with smoked haddock and a mustard and Worcestershire sauce-flavoured creamy bechamel sauce topped with grated Parmesan cheese - it's one of London's Savoy Hotel's signature dishes.
However, and despite these four classic omelettes, this poll is all about single ingredients and not combinations of ingredients as omelette fillings. Sorry!
My most favourite omelette fillings are bacon, chives, chorizo, coriander, leeks, mushrooms, onions, peas, potatoes, spinach and tomatoes, with cheese being my best omelette filling. My perfect omelette would be a cheese, onion and tomato omelette with maybe mushrooms added to the mix. But because of the number of fillings, it's difficult to make, so I've been told!
French onion omelette:
My least favourite omelette fillings are courgettes and peppers, with ham being the worst omelette filling. With the exceptions of crispy bacon and chorizo, I'm not a big fan of meat in my omelettes.
Excluding the eggs, what are your most and least favourite omelette fillings?
How good (or bad) are you at making omelettes? And what's the largest number of fillings you've put in an omelette?
If you like omelettes, are you a two-egg or a three-egg omelette person?
I'm terrible at making an omelette. My problem is that I add too many fillings so that the omelette breaks up when being dished out onto the plate. Good omelettes are definitely proof of the KISS principle. Keep It Simple Stupid! I now keep it simple by only eating omelettes at restaurants. I now love the omelette stations in hotel breakfast restaurants. I present my bowl of many ingredients to the chef and my problem becomes their problem but, it has to be said, they usually deliver a great omelette.
I love omelettes and I'm a three-egg omelette man. That's me outed!
Below is a poll where you can anonymously select your most favourite omelette filling. Unfortunately only one pick is allowed in the poll.
A poll on this site can only have a maximum of 20 answer options. Given that any food ingredient can be an omelette filling, I had to leave certain ingredients out of the poll. There was unfortunately no room as poll options for: anchovies, artichoke, asparagus, aubergine (aka eggplant), avocado, baked beans, bean sprouts, beetroot (aka beet), bitter melon, bread, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, caviar, chervil (aka French parsley), coconut, crab, cream, duck, garlic, green beans, kale, kimchi, leeks, mustard sauce, okra (aka lady's fingers), olives, oysters, pancetta, parsley, pasta, peas, pepperoni, pesto, pork, prawns/shrimps, radish, rice, salami (including pepperoni), sardines (aka pilchards), sauerkraut, smoked haddock, sorrel (aka spinach dock), squash, sweet corn, sweet potatoes, tarragon, truffles, tuna, turkey, turnips and yogurt.
I think cheese will easily win the poll, with ham, mushrooms, onions and tomatoes trailing behind in the poll.
I want to thank @EnigmaInitiative for her advice in compiling this poll. Obviously, any mistakes with the poll are my mistakes unless 'other' wins!
Please see the first comment below to see what has won each battle of the food and drinks so far.
Omelette station:
6
32 comments
This is crazy. I understand the limitations of the polls here, but limiting to a single item basically misses the point of making an omelet!
Forced to decide I voted for cheese since that is an ingredient in nearly all of my favorite mixes of items in a good omelet, along with ham or sausage, peppers, and onions.
Two egg omelets are best for me, but they're increasingly hard to find, having been replaced by the 3-egg variety.
There's no way I could compile a meaningful poll with the many combinations of omelette fillings.
Why do you say two egg omelets are hard to find? I've been flipping eggs for better than 35 years now. If you want two eggs then the cook should put less of the ingredients you want in the omelette with the two eggs. It's just a matter of compensation. I'm sorry you're finding it difficult to find the two egg on there.
@Smile4fu Most of the places I visited on a recent 2 week trip had three egg on the menu, but not two. Now admittedly, I didn't specifically inquire about the getting just two, or the price associated with that.
@CleavageFan4U I See. So at an omelet bar, you can actually see how many eggs they use.The menu item three egg omelet is coming out Of a ladle from a Bay of beaten eggs period it's not really 3 eggs. It's usually six ounces by wieght.. I see what you're talking about.
I chose mushrooms, because I can eat mushrooms in just about anything, but I really enjoy a good Greek omelet with feta.
I've never had a Greek omelette.
@NightBloom95 I like spinach but I'm not so keen on feta cheese, too smelly!
@NightBloom95 The feta cheese I've had here has been quite whiffy. Perhaps I need to try it in Greece.
I chose bacon because I love bacon. I don't eat omelettes unless they are 99.9% bacon, just saying ..... LOL
I get the impression you like bacon!
I was tempted to choose bacon as I am of the opinion that if it does not have cheese it is not an omelette.
Smoked salmon chive touch a lemon zest and creme fraiche yes. Yes
That sounds a yummily lavish omelette.
I am a weird one in that I like Strawberry Preserves in my 3 egg omelet. It add a touch of sweetness along with the flavor of the fruit Give it a try it might surprise you!!
I've never came across strawberry jam in an omelette. I tend not to mix sweet with savoury. Thanks for stopping by.
@spunkycumfun I was introduced to this "mixture" by a farmer in Wisconsin a number of years ago and have tried many different jams and jellies but always return to the strawberry preserves NOT Jam, need the big chunks of the berry to balance out the dish, Jam melts and burns and gets too thin. I noticed you are from across the pond so your Jam may be like our preserves just make sure it has good sized pieces of fruit.
@Mickbare2 Our jams are your jellies I believe.
For the record, Brussels sprouts won THE BATTLE OF THE VEGETABLES, bananas won THE BATTLE OF THE FRUITS, basil won THE BATTLE OF THE HERBS, garlic won THE BATTLE OF THE SPICES, cashew nuts won THE BATTLE OF THE NUTS, sunflower seeds won THE BATTLE OF THE SEEDS, roast beef won THE BATTLE OF THE ROAST DINNERS, cheesecake won THE BATTLE OF THE PUDDINGS, pepperoni won THE BATTLE OF THE PIZZA TOPPINGS, Caesar salad won THE BATTLE OF THE SALADS, green beans won THE BATTLE OF THE BEANS, watermelon won THE BATTLE OF THE MELONS, tomato-based pasta sauce won THE BATTLE OF THE HOT SAUCY DIPS, barbecue sauce won THE BATTLE OF THE COOL SAUCY DIPS, vanilla ice cream won THE BATTLE OF THE ICE CREAMS, capellini (aka angel hair) won THE BATTLE OF THE PASTAS, steak won THE BATTLE OF THE BARBECUE, romaine lettuce won THE BATTLE OF THE LETTUCES, honeycrisp apples won THE BATTLE OF THE APPLES, stout won THE BATTLE OF THE BEERS, whisky won THE BATTLE OF THE SPIRITS, clam chowder won THE BATTLE OF THE SOUPS, sourdough bread won THE BATTLE OF THE BREADS, liver won THE BATTLE OF THE OFFAL, roast turkey won THE BATTLE OF CHRISTMAS FOODS, Old Fashioned won THE BATTLE OF THE COCKTAILS, Americano coffee won THE BATTLE OF THE COFFEES, English breakfast tea won THE BATTLE OF THE TEAS, maple syrup won THE BATTLE OF THE PANCAKES, barbecue sauce won THE BATTLE OF THE CONDIMENTS, ribeye steak won THE BATTLE OF THE STEAKS, portobello mushrooms won THE BATTLE OF THE MUSHROOMS, beefsteak tomatoes won THE BATTLE OF THE TOMATOES, barbecue crisps won THE BATTLE OF THE CRISPS, strawberries won THE BATTLE OF THE BERRIES, crab won THE BATTLE OF THE SHELLFISH, vanilla yogurt won THE BATTLE OF THE YOGURTS, jasmine rice won THE BATTLE OF THE RICE, chicken wings won THE BATTLE OF HOT FINGER FOODS, cheeses won THE BATTLE OF COLD FINGER FOODS, dry red wine won THE BATTLE OF THE WINES, tap water won THE BATTLE OF WATER, blueberry muffins won THE BATTLE OF THE MUFFINS, cheese won THE BATTLE OF THE CHARCUTERIE, cow milk hard cheese won THE BATTLE OF THE CHEESE, burgers won THE BATTLE OF FAST FOOD, olive oil won THE BATTLE OF THE OILS, beef stew won THE BATTLE OF THE STEW, cow milk won THE BATTLE OF THE MILK, butter won THE BATTLE OF THE BAKED POTATO, salad won THE BATTLE OF THE SIDE DISH, pizza won THE BATTLE OF THE SAVOURY PIE, apple pie won THE BATTLE OF THE SWEET PIE, coffee won THE BATTLE OF THE HOT BEVERAGE, iced tea won THE BATTLE OF THE COLD BEVERAGE, salmon won THE BATTLE OF THE FISHES, and rice won THE BATTLE OF THE GRAINS.
I have never been able to do a proper omelette so I wind up just doing scrambled eggs with say bacon bits, mushrooms, diced onion etc mixed in and then melting cheese, usually an extra sharp shredded cheddar on top. My favorite is with the bacon, mushroom and cheddar. I often put part of it on good whole wheat or whole grain toast. Add coffee and orange juice and breakfast is ready.
Making a good omelette is an art. It's beyond me most of the time.
@spunkycumfun There are some arts that I know I will never master.
@justskin1 Likewise.
Yep you're right Spunky, have to at least have "cheese", and if it's only cheese, it will still be delish!
Cheese is the king of the omelette fillings!
If there's an omelette station at a buffet, I ask for bacon, ham, tomato, and cheese
Hotel omelette stations are shrines in my book!
I had to go with cheese but I like cheese and bacon, cheese and sausage and also cheese and linguica it's so great and taste so good. I don't make any omelets myself hubby makes them for me..
This is another great battle here. I hope your Friday is a fun start to a wonderful weekend..
I had to look up what linguica is. Now I know it's a Portuguese or Brazilian sausage. Everyone loves a sausage!
of course: "Tortilla de patatas"
I love tortilla de patatas.
Butter, Olive oil, maple syrup, Cajun spice, black pepper, peppers, onions, mushrooms, ham. Lot of salsa
Forgot cheese
That's a lot of fillings. I hope your omelette holds up!
@spunkycumfun fir a t 5 don't take up any room
I chose cheese as it goes in every omelette that I make. However there is always some sort of vegetable as well with my usual choices being spinach, bell peppers, or broccoli. And now for a cheesy pickup line: "Hey baby, do you like eggs? Cause omelette you suck my dick"
Cheese is a perfect accompaniment to an omelette.
Ham and Cheese!
I love cheese but I'm not so keen on ham in my omelette.
Cheese !!
Cheese is a classic omelette filling.
A plain omelette is my preference, but any filling is fine with me.
My favourite would be to add some thinly sliced chorizo picante for the last 30s or so.
ps - have you ever done a battle of the whiskies (scottish varieties) and/or whiskeys (all others)?
I've not done a battle of the whiskies/whiskeys. I may do one.
Three egg omelet. Mine end up being scrambled with the fillings. The most I use is 5, with tomatoes, onions, peppers, cheese and spinach. If it's in the fridge, it goes in the pan.
My omelette wouldn't survive if I added five fillings to it.
@spunkycumfun That's why mine end up scrambled
@njfitguy1 Scrambled egg is still good.