Three-Egg Ham and Cheese Omelette

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs
• 30g cheddar cheese, grated
• 50g ham slices, torn into pieces
• 4 cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 30g fresh spinach
• 10g butter
• Salt and black pepper

Method

Crack the three eggs into a bowl and add a three-finger pinch of salt and a grind of black pepper. Beat with a fork until the yolks and whites are fully combined but still loose — you're aiming for a pourable custard, not aerated foam. A few streaks of white matter less than you'd think; they disappear into the pan within seconds. Overbeating introduces too much air, which fractures the protein network and gives you a spongy, torn texture instead of the silky set you want.

Place a 20cm non-stick pan over medium heat and add the butter. Watch it foam — that's the water content evaporating — then swirl the pan so the melted solids coat the base evenly. The moment the foam dies down and you see a faint hazelnut smell, pour in the egg. Let it sit undisturbed for ten seconds. This egg-techniques|initial set is critical: the bottom layer firms up enough to hold the scrambling motion you're about to do, but the top stays liquid.

Use a silicone spatula to draw the cooked edges toward the centre of the pan, tilting the base away from the spatula so uncooked egg flows into the gaps. Work steadily for sixty to ninety seconds — you're looking for a loose custard consistency across the surface, with the edges pulling away cleanly from the sides. Stop when the top is still visibly wet but the bottom doesn't slide around; residual heat will finish the cooking as you fold. This matters: an omelette that looks fully set in the pan will be rubbery on the plate.

Scatter the ham, cheddar, spinach, and tomatoes across one half of the omelette. Fold the bare half over the filling in a single motion — no fiddling. The residual heat from the eggs will wilt the spinach and soften the tomatoes just enough. Slide the whole thing onto a warm plate immediately. The exterior should be pale golden with a faint set of grid marks from the pan, not blistered or brown. The interior firms up as you eat, reaching the ideal give-and-take of a well-executed eggs|omelette within thirty seconds of plating.