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Cheese Omelet (Whisk eggs thoroughly Allow)
Whisk 2 eggs thoroughly. Allow a pinch of salt, the same of pepper, half a teaspoonful of finely chopped parsley, and a teaspoonful of grated Parmesan or other cheese. Mix completely. Put a piece of butter the size of an egg into the frying-pan. When it is hot, pour in the mixture, and stir it with a wooden spoon until it begins to set. Discontinue stirring, but shake the pan for a minute or so; when cooked fold the omelet in two. When it is lightly browned, turn it on a hot dish. It must not be overdone. The inside ought to be quite juicy. If it is preferred, the cheese may be finely grated and strewed over the omelet after it is cooked, instead of mixed with it before. Time to fry, ten minutes.
A plain French-style omelette for one, from the era when omelettes were stirred in the pan rather than rolled off a spatula. Two things in the text need adjusting: the butter and the stated time.
- Ignore the ten minutesA two-egg omelette in a hot pan is done in 60 to 90 seconds, and the whole operation from pouring to plating takes under two minutes. Held on heat for ten minutes the eggs will be dry and leathery, which contradicts the recipe's own instruction that the inside be juicy.
- Butter the size of an eggThat is roughly 2 oz, or 4 tablespoons — far more than needed. Use 1 tablespoon in a 7- or 8-inch pan, enough to coat the surface and foam.
- The hinge: pull it off underdoneFold and turn out while the centre is still visibly loose and glossy. Residual heat finishes it on the plate. This is what the original means by "quite juicy" (the French call it baveuse).
- Pan and heatA well-seasoned or nonstick 7–8 inch pan over medium-high. The butter should foam and just begin to smell nutty before the eggs go in; too cool and the eggs weep, too hot and they brown before setting.
- Cheese quantityA teaspoon of grated Parmesan is a seasoning, not a filling. A modern cook might use 2 to 3 tablespoons of Parmesan, Gruyère or a sharp cheddar. If the cheese goes in the eggs, expect the omelette to set slightly faster.
- "Lightly browned"Period taste allowed a pale gold face; the classical French method aims for no colour at all. Either is defensible — decide before you start, because it dictates your heat.
- YieldOne omelette, one serving. Better not to scale it up in the pan; two eggs at a time, cooked in succession, suits this method best.