I love the sort of thin omelettes the Italians sometimes turn into sandwiches: cold and pressed between two pieces of mayonnaised bun or slices of schiacciata. And that's what I'd warmly advise here in the unlikely event that you end up with leftovers. But they are so good hot and straight off the press, eaten either with knife and fork or rolled up within a warmed tortilla, that I urge you to morph into a kind of short order omelette cook next time you have a batch of people to feed convivially in the morning or not long after. The way to make this easy is, first get a good pan (I like a Scanpan Crepe Pan) and then get out loads of eggs and leave them out near a mixing bowl by the cooker, and then mix up a few ideas for fillings and set them out in their bowls nearby. Then, all you do is crack 2 eggs, add your filling, fry, toss out and get on with the next. I've jotted down what I put in the omelettes. Obviously, I don't expect you to be restricted, but I thought it might be helpful.

Ingredients

For each omelette:

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon butter and a drop of oil, for frying
• Filling, your choice

For the cheese omelette:

• 1/4 cup grated Emmental (but any cheese should do)

For the chile omelette:

• 1 long red chile, deseeded and sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

For the green omelette:

• 1/2 cup watercress or baby spinach, finely chopped
• 1 scallion, finely sliced

For the ham omelette:

• 1/2 cup chopped ham

Directions