In Episode 11 of Season 14 of The Big Bang Theory, Raj cooked an omelette for his new love interest. The secret, he said, was beating the egg whites separately to create volume. This cheese and mushroom omelette was cooked a la Raj. Light and fluffy with melted cheese oozing out.
About the mushrooms. There are so many varieties. Which is best? We’re partial to button mushrooms when cooking cheese and mushroom omelette. White, preferably. But you may opt for some other variety. You may even combine two or more varieties. Just make sure that you cut your mushrooms into thin slices before you cook them so that the butter does not burn before the mushrooms are done.
You may beat the egg whites manually with a wire whisk or, for convenience, with a hand or stand mixer. The egg whites are beaten until peaks are starting to form. Meanwhile, the egg yolks are whisked with cream, salt and pepper. For a visual aid on beating egg whites, see the following:
Beating egg whites: frothy to stiff peaks, illustrated
When a recipe calls for stiffly beaten egg whites, what does it mean? How can you tell the difference between soft and stiff peaks? Here are illustrations of the different stages in beating egg whites.
The egg white and egg yolk mixture are folded together and spread in a pan coated with more melted butter. Because the mixture won’t spread into a flat mass on its own, you will need to use an offset spatula to smoothen the top.
When the edges of the omelette are firm but the center is still wet, spread the cooked mushrooms on one side of the omelette. Top the mushrooms with grated cheese.
Fold over the empty half of the omelette over the mushrooms and cheese. Cook just until the cheese (or cheeses) melt then slide your omelette to a plate.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 250 grams thinly sliced button mushrooms
- ½ teaspoon salt divided
- 2 pinches pepper divided
- 75 grams mozzarella
- 25 grams sharp cheddar
- 3 eggs yolks and whites separated
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a pan and saute the mushrooms with half of the salt and pepper until lightly browned. Scoop out and transfer to a plate.
- Shred the mozzarella and cheddar.
- Beat the egg whites until peaks start to form.
- Whisk the egg yolks with the cream and remaining salt and pepper.
- Gently fold in the egg whites into the egg yolks.
- Reheat the remaining butter in the pan and spread the eggs to cover the entire bottom (use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread the eggs evenly).
- Cook over medium-low heat until the edges are firm but the top is still wet.
- Spread the sauteed mushrooms on half of the omelette and top with the shredded cheeses.
- Fold the empty half of the omelette over to cover the cheeses and mushrooms. Continue cooking until the cheeses melt.
- Slide the omelette onto a plate and serve immediately.
