Usually, omelets are rather compact than fluffy. Yet, you can make them fluffy by beating the whites separately from the yolks and by adding some water, as you’re going to see from this fluffy omelet recipe below:

Ingredients for one omelet:

• 2-3 eggs, whites separated from the yolks
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1/2 bell pepper, chopped small
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• Salt, pepper

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Cooking directions:

Heat a frying pan and saute the mushrooms, onions and peppers in butter. Separate the eggs, then beat the whites until they get stiff (add some water, about 1/4 cup, it helps). You can use an electric mixer to beat the whites, it’s faster than doing it manually. Beat the egg yolks separately with salt. Pour the yolks mix into the whites, then put everything into a heated frying pan with melted butter. Cover the pan and let it cook at medium temperature. It will need about 5-6 minutes until eggs harden. Then put the fillings on top of the omelet, cover it again and let it cook for more 4-5 minutes, then fold it, put it on a plate, sprinkle it with grated cheese and serve it with some salad or with pickles. Beware not to overcook the omelet, because you want it fluffy, remember? The two secrets of fluffy omelets are separating the egg whites from the yolks and covering the omelet pan. If you don't succeed from the first attempt, don't get discouraged. Try it again, maybe you'll be luckier next time.

While in the US omelets are usually served for breakfast, in France they are served as starters. The rest stays the same: fillings can be almost anything one can imagine, eggs are eggs, and French people do use omelet pans or electric omelet makers, just like Americans, in their attempt of creating the perfect omelet (as if anybody would actually notice an omelet’s perfection).

This is a recipe for the basic French omelette, which you can use as a starting point for your cooking fantasies.

Ingredients for one omelet:

• 2 eggs (take 3 if you’re really hungry)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter (the original French omelette recipe was with butter, but the taste difference is barely noticeable, so use whatever you want)
• Salt and pepper according to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon fine herbs mix

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Cooking Directions:

In a bowl, put the eggs, the herbs, the salt and the pepper and mix them well, without insisting too much on beating the eggs. Take a frying pan or an omelet pan and heat it, then put the butter or the oil in. If you use butter, beware that it will start bubbling and foaming. Covering the pan will only make things worse, so don’t. Just be careful not to get burned. As the bottom part of the omelette starts to harden and turn golden to brownish, gently lift it with a wooden spatula and allow the liquid above to leak towards the bottom until it reaches the pan and gets cooked at its turn. Soon you’ll see that the omelette will still preserve the nice, round shape, yet the uncooked layer on top will be significantly thinner and eventually will disappear. Use the spatula to fold half of the omelette over the other half, then slip it gently onto a plate. Serve hot, plain or with a topping you like such as sour cream, salsa or tomato sauce. It’s always nice to sprinkle a little freshly ground pepper over the food.

Variations of the French omelette include fillings such as grated cheese, minced bell peppers, ham or even chopped shrimps.