Omelette, Plain
INGREDIENTS for dish for 4 or 5 persons. -6 eggs, 1 saltspoonful of salt, 1/2 saltspoonful of pepper, 3 oz. of butter. AVERAGE COST, 9d.
Break the eggs into a basin, omitting the whites of 3, and beat them up with the salt and pepper until extremely light; then add 1 oz. of the butter broken into small pieces and stir this into the mixture.
Put the other 2 oz. of butter into a fryingpan, make it quite hot, and, as soon as it begins to bubble, whisk the eggs, &c., very briskly for a minute or two and pour them into the pan; stir the omelette with a spoon one way until the mixture thickens and becomes firm and, when the whole is set, fold the edges over, so that the omelette assumes an oval form; and when it is nicely brown on one side and quite firm, it is done. To take off the rawness on the upper side, hold the pan before the fire for a minute or two and brown it with a salamander or hot shovel. Serve very expeditiously on a very hot dish and never cook until it is just wanted. The flavour of this omelette may be very much enhanced by adding minced parsley, minced onion or eschalot, or grated cheese, allowing 1 tablespoonful of the former and half the quantity of the latter, to the above proportion of eggs. Shrimps or oysters may also be added: the latter should be scalded in their liquor and then bearded and cut into small pieces. In making an omelette, be particularly careful that it is not too thin; and, to avoid this, do not make it in too large a frying-pan, as the mixture would then spread too much and taste of the outside. It should also not be greasy, burnt or too much done, and should be cooked over a gentle fire, that the whole of the substance may be heated without drying up the outside. Omelettes are sometimes served with gravy; but this should never be poured over them, but served in a tureen, as the liquid causes the omelette to become heavy and flat, instead of eating light and soft. In making the gravy, the flavour should not overpower that of the omelette and should be thickened with arrowroot or rice flour.
TIME. With 6 eggs, in a frying-pan 18 or 20 inches round, 4 to 6 minutes.
SEASONABLE at any time.