Mushroom Omelet
Cut 3 or 4 mushrooms in small pieces; stew them until tender in a little milk. Beat 6 eggs, yolks and whites separately, add the mushrooms to the yolks, using the milk in which they were stewed. Season with a little salt and paprika, fold in the whites of the eggs, and cook as usual.
A puffy soufflé-style omelet rather than a rolled French one — the separated whites are the whole point. The vague phrase "cook as usual" hides the only tricky part.
- "Cook as usual"For a beaten-white omelet this means a buttered skillet over medium-low heat: pour in the mixture and cook undisturbed until the base is set and golden, then, if the top is still loose, finish it under a broiler or in a moderate oven. Folding it in half and sliding it out is the usual finish. Cooking it hot and fast, as with a plain omelet, will scorch the base before the middle sets.
- Fold, do not stirOnce the whites are in, use a spatula and as few strokes as possible. Knocking the air out turns this into a dense, wet scramble, which is exactly what the separated eggs were meant to avoid.
- How many mushrooms"3 or 4 mushrooms" gives no size, and period mushrooms were not graded as today's are. About 4 oz (a generous cup, sliced) of cremini or white button mushrooms is a reasonable modern equivalent.
- The milkNo quantity is given; use 3-4 tablespoons and simmer the mushrooms gently for 5-8 minutes until tender. You want nearly all of it absorbed or reduced — more than a few spoonfuls of liquid in the yolks and the omelet will not hold its rise.
- Six eggs is a large omeletThis fills a 10-inch pan and serves 3 to 4. For two people, halve everything and use an 8-inch skillet.
- PaprikaIn American books of this period paprika usually meant sweet Hungarian paprika, used as much for colour as for heat. Smoked Spanish paprika is a different thing altogether and will dominate the mushrooms.
- Serve at onceA soufflé omelet begins to deflate within a minute or two of leaving the heat. Have plates warm and the table ready before you start cooking.