How to make any omelette successfully in cheap and nasty pans!

Fanny Cradock dedicates the whole of the next partwork to one of her very, very favourites - the humble omelette. But before she gets whisking and folding with a variety of sweet (you have been warned) and savoury ingredients, she turns her attention to a particular bug bear of hers - namely that housewives are reluctant to spend a mere 30 shillings on a decent, solid, proper, iron omelette pan. Fanny says if you do make the CORRECT decision to invest in one, it must be kept exclusively for omelettes - never washed and treated initially by heating coarse salt in it over a thread of heat for two whole days. Then, omelettes will NEVER stick. But what about those poor souls who refuse to follow Fannys advice and persist with their old, cheap, wobbly handled frying pans? Worry not, Fanny graciously (some would say reluctantly) has a solution - rub it with raw unsalted pork fat and heat it, fat side to flame, for at least 7 minutes. Oh. Thanks heavens for non-stick technology I say.

Fanny herself demonstrates (through an elaborate pic strip) how to make a classic French omelette with both types of pan - a proper one, and a cheap and nasty one - both with perfect results. I have to say Fanny looks most pleased with the cheap and nasty one... No need to bite your teeth with rage dear, it's only an omelette. Can you imagine her wrestling her competitor to the ground on Saturday Kitchen with that appealing Omelette Challenge item? Fanny would ALWAYS win.

So, in keeping with the way this part work is going so far, once Fanny has shown these techniques, the very first omelette we set to make together uses neither a proper pan or a cheap and nasty one. How disappointing. Instead the first omelette incorporates another of Fannys favourites - it's green, oh and cold.

So I set to with some spinach again, and this time blitz it up in my food processor (Fanny says I can) once it's wilted. Fanny asks me to butter a straight sided soufflé dish very thickly indeed before whisking up the eggs, adding the spinach, some hard cheese and seasoning. I pour the mixture into the dish, cover with foil and bake it in a low oven for around an hour.

Fanny recommends checking it every now and again and removing it as soon as it is set. When it comes out the oven it's well risen, like a soufflé, but I need to leave it to get cold in the dish before serving. It soon deflates and shrinks away from the sides as Fanny explains. Fanny says this particular omelette is splendid when cold and sliced like a cake, especially for picnics or on a cold family buffet. It is very tasty, and a great way to have an omelette made in advance really. I'd say it was like a quiche without any pastry, but Fanny would never agree. So, all that is left to do is to put my mid-priced omelette pan (unused) away ready for the next recipe. Perhaps...