It's easy to say onion omelette! A poor dish of the Italian tradition that combines with simplicity classic ingredients and ancient gestures, such as slicing onions, whisking eggs, and grating cheese. And it is precisely here that the first doubts begin to creep in: yes or no cheese?

The ingredients of the onion omelette

The basic onion omelette recipe for 2 people includes: 4 eggs, 1 onion, extra virgin olive oil, butter, salt, pepper. The ingredients optional are grated cheese (Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano to taste in the measure of about two tablespoons on 4 eggs) and aromatic herbs. Among the most suitable we find mint, marjoram and sage, but also a touch of rosemary can be appreciated by those who love stronger flavors.

Onion omelette: the basic recipe

The onions

To prepare a delicious onion omelette, the first step to pay attention to is cooking the onions. First of all, cut the onion into thin slices (about 2 mm) and leave it to flavor in a non-stick casserole with a little extra virgin olive oil. If you are looking for a strong flavor and a crunchy heart, raise the heat and cook for 2/3 minutes, being careful to do not burn. For a softer taste, however, proceed over low heat for about 5 minutes until the onion is well cooked and softened.

The basic compound

In a bowl, beat the eggs with a fork or whisk (for a more homogeneous result) and season with salt and pepper. Add the grated cheese and finely chopped herbs to taste (in the case of rosemary it is better not to overdo it to avoid a "woody" effect) and mix well again. At this point, check that the onions have cooled and add them to the eggs proceeding to uniform the mixture as done with the other ingredients.

Cooking

And now, let's move on to cooking! Melt a knob of butter in a non-stick pan, pour in the omelette mixture and slightly lower the heat. Cook for about two minutes and turn the omelette with the help of a plate plan. Cook the other side of the omelette for another two minutes and serve.

Onion omelette in the oven

A valid alternative to this pan-fried recipe is the baked onion omelette. This preparation is perfect for obtaining a higher and softer result and not to put in difficulty those who cannot turn the omelette.
To make the baked onion omelette, prepare the onions as in the classic recipe and pour them together with the omelette mixture in a pan greased with a knob of butter and lightly sprinkled with breadcrumbs suitable for cooking in the oven. Cook for about 8 minutes at 200 ° C and serve.

Potato and onion omelette

One of the most popular variations of the classic onion omelette is the potato and onion omelette. To prepare it, just add the boiled potatoes to the basic recipe that we read in the first paragraph, with only one care: increase the dose of eggs. Given the volume of the potatoes, otherwise you run the risk of obtaining a dry and uneven result. But let's proceed by points.
First, peel 400 g of potatoes, wash them and cut them into thin slices about 3 mm thick. Boil them in boiling salted water for about 8 minutes and drain with the help of one skimmer to prevent them from breaking. If you are not very practical, cut them into cubes of about 3/4 mm per side and proceed in the same way. Leave the potatoes to cool.
In the meantime, cook the sliced ​​onion as explained in the basic recipe and prepare the mixture of beaten eggs, cheese and herbs separately using 6 eggs.
Combine all the ingredients in the egg mixture bowl, mix gently and pour into a hot non-stick pan where a knob of butter has been melted. Lower the heat e cook gently for about 10 minutes with the lid on, moving the pan from time to time to remove the omelette from the bottom.

Neapolitan onion omelette

To claim the tradition of onion omelette, Neapolitan cuisine. To prepare it following the regional recipe, we follow the same steps as the classic recipe taking care of gently stew the onion until cooked and simply add salt, pepper and grated Parmesan to the beaten eggs.

Red onion omelette from Tropea

If you love the sweetness of Tropea red onions, you can also use them to prepare a delicious omelette. Proceed as in the classic recipe, changing only two of the basic ingredients. In addition to replacing the white or golden onion with Tropea red onion, use grated pecorino cheese instead of Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano. Rustic effect guaranteed!

Tuna and onion omelette

To prepare this recipe, all you have to do is add 200 g of well-drained and chopped canned tuna to the onion omelette mixture before pouring it into the pan for cooking. You can then proceed both in the pan and in the oven depending on the result you want to obtain. Cheese yes or no? For the question, we refer you to an old provocation by La Cucina Italiana. Read below!

Light onion omelette

The recipe for the light onion omelette is the same as the basic one, but with some tricks. The ingredients that add calories to the dish are in fact oil, butter and grated cheese. A trick to make the onion omelette lighter is stew the onions with a single teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil and a little water until completely cooked. We will then proceed in the same way described by the recipe of baked onion omelette taking care to add only one tablespoon of grated cheese (or not to add it at all). For an even lighter result, they can be used 2 whole eggs and 3 egg whites instead of 4 whole eggs, taking care to perfume the omelette with abundant aromatic herbs and pepper.