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The Savoury Omelette

A tomato and onion omelette flavored with Parmesan cheese and cream.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

The Savoury Omelette

Ingredients

Directions

Make the tomato and onion filling

  1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.

  2. Add the onion slices and cook without browning.

  3. Add the drained tomato quarters, salt, and pepper; cook for about 10 minutes until the tomatoes are soft.

Cook the omelette

  1. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, cheese, cream or milk, salt, and pepper.

  2. Pour the egg mixture into a heated frying pan and cook until just set.

  3. Pour the hot tomato mixture over the omelette just before turning it out of the pan.

  4. Dust the top with additional grated cheese and serve immediately.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,633 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Parmesan cheese + buttertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,163 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Parmesan cheese + tomatotop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,490 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Set into the tender structure that forms the body of the omelette.
Parmesan cheese
Adds savory, salty flavor and browns lightly where it meets the hot pan.
Cream or whole milk
Adds moisture and softness to the eggs, keeping the omelette tender.
Sweet onion
Adds mild sweetness and aroma when cooked gently in butter.
Tomatoes
Add moisture and gentle acidity, softening into a savory topping.

The step that matters

Cook the eggs until just set. Eggs turn firm and rubbery when overcooked, so removing them while still slightly moist keeps the omelette tender once folded or turned out.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, parmesan cheese, cream, pepper, butter, onion):

  1. Potatofits better
  2. Spinachfits better
  3. Asparagusfits better
  4. Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, parmesan cheese, cream, pepper, butter, onion. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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