First some omelette philosophy and them a recipe.
When making an omelette be sure to do the following:
[li] Have all of your ingredients at room temperature.[/li]
[li] Do not use milk in your eggs, it tightens them.[/li]
[li] Always use a preheated and well seasoned pan (method to follow)*.[/li]
[li] Do not stir your eggs too much.[/li]
[li] Correct flipping is everything.[/li]*Seasoning a pan:
Wash the pan with one drop of liquid soap and the hottest water you can get out of the tap. Dry the pan completely. Fill the pan to 1/4" deep with a new oil or fat (your choice but, no vegetable material) and coat the interior. Lard will cure a pan faster because of it’s higher smoking point, but let your preferences be your guide. Heat the pan until it begins to smoke, reduce heat just enough to avoid more smoking after one minute. Let pan remain at temperature for ten or twenty minutes and turn off the heat. Allow pan to cool slowly. Pour out oil and wipe with a damp cloth or paper towel. When washing a well seasoned pan, use little or better yet, no soap! Really hot water will wash your pan the best. Detergent has the ability to penetrate the metal (or other type surface) of your pan just like the oil does. Use soap very sparingly if at all. For this same reason, do not soak your pan overnight to clean it, this too will cut the seasoning. To remove stuck on food it is better to boil some water in the pan to loosen it.
On with the critique:
It is agreed that you never add milk, the milk proteins will coagulate at high temperature and tighten the texture of your eggs. A spoonful or two of water does just the opposite. It steams the egg mixture to fluff it up even more.
Sadly, few cast iron pans have the sloped sides of a true French omelette pan. This does not mean that they cannot be used, it’s just that you need a very large one so that you can get under the eggs without breaking the edge of the omelette.
The traditional French omelette is prepared in two ways. The first is a coarse, large curd country style, and the second a finer grain, “restaurant” style consistency. I actually do it a third way that is more labor intensive but yields the fluffiest omelette of all (recipe to follow).
What has been left out is the importance of having your eggs at room temperature. They will cook more evenly, quickly and lighter if this is so. Most importantly, never work the eggs too much. This will deflate the omelette and leave you with the equivalent of shoe leather.
And now for something completely different:
Southwestern Omelette
(Stolen from Mamas Royal Cafe in Oakland, CA)
Serves: 2 people
Preparation time: 1/2 hour
Ingredients:
3 Eggs (separated)
2 Tsp water
2 TBS butter
1 Cooked chicken breast
1 Roasted Anaheim chile pepper
1/2 Ripe Haas avocado
1/4 Cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
Dash white pepper
Dash salt
Preparation:
Warm all ingredients to room temperature. Shred the chicken, cheese and chop the chile pepper (tinned Ortega whole roasted green chiles are good). Preheat the pan over low heat. Separate the eggs and whip the whites to medium stiff peaks. Mix the yolks and water, white pepper and salt. Beat the yolks briefly and then slowly fold in the whipped egg whites. Do not overwork the mixture or it will deflate. Pour into the pan and turn up the heat for one minute to set the eggs. Reduce after one minute and prepare ingredients. Do not work the mixture while it is in the pan!
Peel half the avocado and remove thin slices from it. Check the eggs to see that they have begun to set. Add the ingredients to the half of the pan farthest from the pan’s handle (you’ll see why in a moment). Distribute the ingredients equally over that half of the omelette. Using a thin metal spatula (or wooden spoon, if your pan is that well cured), begin to work the edges of the omelette free from the sides of the pan. Slowly work the spatula underneath without tearing the bottom of the eggs. Once the omelette slides around freely in the pan you will be ready to turn it.
Nearest the pan’s handle, work the spatula or spoon underneath the omelette. With the pan touching the burner, slowly raise the handle. As you tilt the pan upwards, turn the omelette. I should fold over cleanly without creasing or breaking. Fold the omelette a little further than you might think to, so that it will settle into place correctly after you sit the pan down again. Keep the omelette in motion to be sure it does not stick.
At this point you have two options, if you used an ovenproof skillet, you can put it in a preheated, 200 degree oven for a few minutes or finish it on the stove. Turn the omelette once in a similar fashion to what has been described to finish the cooking. Divide in half and serve hot with coarsely crumbled Jimmy Dean silver label sage recipe sausage, hash browns, a buttered Thomas’ English Muffin and drip filtered Kona coffee.
Crystal hot sauce or a good green taco sauce may be used.
Ketchup is not allowed on the table.
