04.06.

2010

How to make the perfect omelette | Li

How to make the perfect omelette

What sort of omelette does it for you - a delicate French roll-up, a hearty English half moon or a full Spanish-style circle?

Om elette Sav oy ard as m ade by Aldo Zilli and Pasquale Am ico from a recipe in Delia Sm ith's How To Cheat. Photograph: Linda Ny lind for the Guardian

There is something magical about a good omelette the way a couple of eggs and a pinch of salt can, in less than a minute, achieve such greatness. Light, yet rich in flavour, swift, but satisfying, the omelette is the ultimate frugal supper. As with all very simple things, the omelette has attracted a certain mystique amongst those convinced that there must be more to it than meets the eye. In the titular essay from the collected short works of Elizabeth David, An Omelette and a Glass of Wine, the 'awful genius' of post-war food writing tells of a certain Madame Poularde, celebrated throughout France for her omelettes.

The all egg omelette. Photograph: Felicity Cloake The gourmands of France slathered over her light and fluffy creations, and indulged themselves with endless speculation as to her secret: "She mixed water with the eggs, one writer would say, she added cream asserted another, she had a specially made pan said a third, she reared a special breed of hens unknown to the rest of France claimed a fourth. Before long, recipes for the omelette de la mre Poulard began to appear in magazines and cookery books. Some of these recipes were very much on the fanciful side. One I have seen even goes so far to suggest she put foie gras into the omelette." Finally, David writes, someone saw fit to ask Madame herself for her recipe. "I break some good eggs into a bowl, I beat them well, I put in a good piece of butter in the pan. I throw the eggs into it and I shake it constantly. I am happy, monsieur, if this recipe pleases you."

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How to make the perfect omelette | Li

Ingredients
This method, although common, is by no means sacrosanct. Larousse Gastronomique, which published its first edition seven years after Madame P's death in 1931, suggests 23 tbsp of milk can be added to its 8 beaten eggs if desired. Darina Allen at Ballymaloe substitutes water a view endorsed by Steven Shaw, co-founder of influential foodie community egullet, who says "One teaspoon of cold water per large egg will make a difference in the fluffiness of the omelette. Though it would seem that the addition of water would dilute the egg mixture, what happens with much of the water is that it becomes steam upon hitting the pan. This steam rises through the omelette and acts as a leavening agent of sorts, thus making the omelette fluffier."

Having filled the kitchen with eggs (medium organic, since you ask in the interests of making this a fair test, I had to turn down a kind offer from a friend with hens for fear of exhausting the poor things), I selected my pan (a nine inch non-stick number suitable for a standard two-egg omelette) and got cracking (sorry).

Omelette made with milk. Photograph: Felicity Cloake Mme Poularde's recipe, which also happens to be my own preferred method, yielded a richly yellow, firm and distinctly eggy omelette. Taking advantage of the hot pan, I made a second, this time with 2 tsp of water beaten into the eggs. It looked different, paler and fluffier, and had a distinctly less satisfying taste. For the third, I substituted whole milk for water. Although not as spongy as the eggs and water creation, it still lacked the glorious flavour of the first. As a certain richness is, to my mind, the defining characteristic of an omelette, I thus saw no reason to deviate from my habitual eggsonly recipe. There's no such dispute about the cooking fat, butter being the medium of choice for all concerned. As well as tasting good, the butter serves another purpose. The great Auguste Escoffier described the omelette as "scrambled eggs held together in a coagulated skin". Consider that the pan must be hot enough to set this skin in a matter of seconds (it is helpful to get your eggs to room temperature if possible before cooking fridge-cold eggs will take longer to set, and I found this resulted in an overcooked base), which means the omelette must be cooked fast, or it will be tough.

Foaming butter - be patient. Photograph: Felicity Cloake Harold McGee puts it perfectly: "If good scrambled eggs demand patience, a good omelette takes panache a two- or three- egg omelette cooks in less than a minute." Obligingly, butter bubbles as it heats. Wait until the foam is dying down, but not yet beginning to brown, before adding the eggs.

Equipment
Now for the question of the pan. It is vitally important to match omelette to the size of your pan: if the pan is too big, the omelette will cook too quickly, too small, and it will be tough on the outside while still excessively runny within. (We are aiming for a classically baveuse result here: a thin, delicate skin encasing a meltingly soft, slightly liquid interior.) In my experience, a nine inch (23cm) pan is perfect for a two-egg omelette.

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How to make the perfect omelette | Li

Although of optimum size, my existing non-stick number is not to everyone's taste. Michel Roux Jr recommends an old-fashioned cast-iron omelette pan, of the sort I suspect may also have graced Madame Poularde's stove in turn-of-the-century Normandy.

Cooking an omelette. Photograph: Felicity Cloake Reluctantly, I step away from the safety of my Teflon stalwart, and into the grown-up world of a very beautiful (and very heavy) Le Creuset number. This is cookware that means business. It takes a few goes for us to get properly acquainted sticking is a new and vexatious problem until I start swirling my butter more diligently but I find the surface retains the heat better, so the omelettes cook even faster. I wouldn't say it's a must, but I think that, deployed with skill, a cast-iron pan could help to achieve a softer, more unctuous result.

Technique
Pan and ingredients sorted, it's time to turn the spotlight on my method which, although competent enough, is not always to be relied upon to produce the neat yellow cigars I yearn for. Omelette cooks divide into two broad camps: those who hold that spatulas are for amateurs, and those of us who live in the real world. Personally, I am a devotee of the Michel Roux Jr school, in which one pours in the eggs, allows them to set for about 20 seconds, then simultaneously stirs and shakes the pan like a maniac until the thing is done. (It must then be taken off the heat sharpish, or it will overcook.) The contrary case, as made by Julia Child, whose omelette-tossing antics are a joy to watch, holds that allowing the omelette to form itself, rather than torturing it with a spatula, makes it "more tender and creamier than any other method."

A Julia Child method omelette. Photograph: Felicity Cloake I try hard. I remember Julia's instruction about being "fearless" as I "jerk the pan roughly" towards me, "throwing the egg mass" against the far side of the pan, and "forcing it to roll over upon itself". Several messes later, I finally have my omelette la Child; but it doesn't look neat, like the others. It's slightly ragged, and dare I say it in places, a little overcooked. This may well be a case of a bad workman blaming his tools (although Julia's proudly displayed omelette also looks a bit weatherbeaten to my newly critical eye), but, unless you've got the technique down pat, I don't believe a spatula makes a significant difference. If stirring and tilting is good enough for Roux Jr, the good people at Ballymaloe House (where, incidentally, I ate the best breakfast of my life) and Marcus Wareing, then it's good enough for me. I have nothing left to prove in the omelette stakes. Personally, I don't think too much air becomes an omelette such things should be left to souffls. However, in the interests of those of you who do like a bit of fluff, I finished by testing out the idea put forward in Larousse that whisking the yolks and eggs separately, and then combining them at the last minute, leads to "a lighter and foamier omelette". Although not to my taste, I must admit the thing practically towered for ultimate height, add a teaspoon of water per egg when you mix the two together. For a great omelette, you need three things: good ingredients (and plenty of them, in the case of the butter), the right-sized pan, and fearlessly quick wits. Time is of the essence

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it should be on a plate within a minute.

How to make the perfect omelette | Li

The perfect omelette

Serves 1

Felicity's perfect omelette. Photograph: Felicity Cloake 2 eggs Salt and pepper Generous knob of butter (about a tablespoon) Filling of your choice (optional) 1. Whisk together the eggs until just mixed, then season. Lay out any fillings by the hob. 2. Heat a 23cm pan over a medium-high flame and add the butter and swirl to coat. When the foam begins to die down, pour in the eggs. They should sizzle. 3. Shake the pan to distribute the eggs evenly, then leave for 20 seconds until they begin to bubble. Add any filling. 4. Using a spatula or fork, draw in the sides of the eggs to the centre while shaking the pan to redistribute the liquid to the edges. The omelette is done when still slightly runny in the middle. 5. Take off the heat, and fold two edges into the middle. Shake the pan so they roll together, then tilt it and turn your omelette on to a warm plate (you can tidy it up before serving if you like). Season and eat immediately! What's your favourite omelette recipe, and are you a stirrer or a shaker? And can these delicate French omelettes ever compete with a whopping British half moon, oozing with cheese, and served with chips? Next Previous Blog home
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