The Wonky Omelette

Before starting to cook regularly for myself I felt that a proper dinner for one had to be a very fancy affair. I had to go all out. That usually meant finding elaborate recipes that would require running around Paris looking for a specific epicere that sold a specific spice or other ingredients, and consequently spending hours actually cooking said dish. 

Unfortunately, most of those dinners were absolute disasters. Instead of feeling relaxed and in my self-care bubble, I would become frazzled and turn that anger and frustration inward because that signaled to me that I could not take care of myself. Clearly creating and living an independent life in Paris could not and would not be possible. 

So I would abandon my cooking projects for a few weeks and spend most of my time at the many bars and restaurants that Paris has to offer. Ignoring my commitment to myself, to get better, and confronting my fears about being in Paris alone.  

This was not very conducive to creating a secure self-care bubble. 

You would think that that kind of negative self-talk would have been an indication that I should probably start focusing on simpler meals, that would’ve been the logical step. I didn’t take the logical route. When I felt ready to tackle another dinner for one I buckled down on my elaborate meals and continued to torture myself by attempting to make the dinner for ones that I felt would prove that I, in fact, could and would survive in Paris alone. I ended up making inedible meals served with a side of self-loathing, with failure and feeling overwhelmed as the dessert. 

My insistence and determination to make these elaborate dinners were a direct reflection of how I was living my life at the time. Everything had to be bigger and better in order to prove how well I was doing on my own. I didn’t want to take the simple route of making small improvements, I could not wait for my feelings of abandonment, loneliness, confusion, and fear to pass. I needed to feel better now. 

The dinner for one torture continued for a while until one grey Saturday afternoon I found myself in a local café knowing that I should eat, but not wanting to. My stomach was in knots and my mouth had a peculiar metallic taste. The only reason I actually left my apartment and ended up in this café was because I wanted to be surrounded by people, even if I didn’t plan on engaging with anyone.  My apartment felt like a vortex of sadness that siphoned out any kind of joy that I had in me, whether fleeting or otherwise, the moment I entered its door and closed it behind me. 

At the café, I remember seeing an omelette and a side salad on the lunch menu which, even after a few years of living in Paris, I still found odd. I always equated eggs with solo dinners at home, not as a meal option at a restaurant. Eggs as a meal were reserved for those moments when you want something easy, quick, and filling at home, not at a restaurant when you could be sharing a potentially special moment with friends and family, or simply treating yourself. 

Eggs were clearly not special enough, but I ordered the omelette anyway. 

The omelette seemed like the safest choice because I was confident that I could keep it down and, most importantly, it would give me a reason to spend even more time in the cafe. A few minutes after placing my order a beautiful silky omelette with a nutrient-rich leafy dark green salad was placed in front of me and I was impressed by its understated elegance and simplicity. 

My admiration for the omelette continued with the first bite. 

At some point during the meal I had an ‘ah-ha’ moment. The thing that made this dish not only delicious but comforting was, in fact, its simplicity. Basic ingredients and straight-forward cooking instructions led to this. It was also at that moment that I realized that I am going to pay 15 euros for something that I could have done by myself, for myself. 

That omelette lunch highlighted everything that I was doing wrong with my dinner for one meals. I was doing too much and focusing on the wrong things. Instead of being kinder to myself by taking simple baby steps towards feeling better, I was focused on extravagant tasks in an attempt to squash my true feelings to the very bottom of my heart and stomach, but I was lying to myself. 

Shortly after that lunch, I made my first egg focused dinner for one. It wasn’t an omelette. I didn’t know how to make an omelette and I was focused on my new mantra of simple and stress-free dinners. So my first egg focused dinner for one was three hard-boiled eggs, topped with feta and sardines, with a side salad.  It was easy, delicious, and I felt accomplished. That dinner for one led to an entire shift in how I approached my dinner for ones. They no longer needed to be fancy affairs, there is beauty in simplicity especially when making dinner for yourself. 

My egg focused dinners were a rotation of what I was comfortable making—fried eggs, scrambled eggs, or hard boiled eggs with various toppings and or sides.  I never quite got around to making an omelette because I wanted to keep things simple, so I was thrilled when Lindsey Tramuta told me that her favorite dinner for one was an omelette. I was finally going to learn how to make the simple dish that helped to lead me down the path of making dinner for ones that were right for me. 

The Wonky Omelette 

Ingredients 

Note: you can also add any kind of herb(s) you want to the omelette. If you choose to include herbs, add them to the egg and cream mix. 

• 2 eggs 

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper 

• 2 ½ tablespoons of grated parmesan 

• ¼ full fat cream 

• ½  white or yellow onion coarsely chopped onions, they don’t have to be perfect 

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 

• 1 teaspoon of olive oil

• 2 slices of thick bread (whole grain, rye, etc)

• Green salad 

Preparation

1. Using a fork, beat the eggs and cream in a bowl until thoroughly mixed, but it to the side (do not add salt and pepper!) 

2. Add olive oil and coarsely chopped onions to the pan and allow the onions to cook until they are softened but not brown. 

3. Remove the softened onions and place them in a bowl, on the side (they’ll come in handy later) 

4. Turn the stove all the way down and add the butter 

5. Once warm pour the egg and cream mixture into the pan and then add the salt and pepper 

6. Once the egg and cream mixture is starting to harden in the center, add the parmesan cheese  (keep an eye on the omelette because this happens quite quickly) 

7. Once the omelette has thickened all around the underside but is still slightly wet on top, roll the omelet by folding over one side and then the opposite site. Once fully folded use a spatula to transfer to your plate. 

8. Serve with your bread, toasted or not, and a side salad tossed with your favorite dressing.