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Cheese Omelet Baked
Cut some strips of cheese about one-fourth of an inch thick, arrange them around the sides of a baking-dish and spread sifted browned breadcrumbs over the bottom; place thin slices of cheese over this, and then three or four eggs, unbroken, salt and pepper to taste, spread on a little grated cheese and finally another layer of the browned breadcrumbs. Place a few lumps of butter on the top, set the dish in the oven and bake for from ten to fifteen minutes, or until the eggs are quite firm, but not hard. When done, serve as hot as possible.
Despite the name, nothing is beaten and nothing is folded: this is a dish of shirred eggs baked between layers of cheese and crumbs. A few gaps in the original are worth filling before you start.
- "Unbroken" eggsThis means the eggs are cracked into the dish whole, yolks intact, not beaten. Crack each one into a cup first and slide it in, so a broken yolk or a bit of shell does not spoil the arrangement.
- Oven temperatureNone is given. A moderate oven, around 375F, should set three or four eggs within the ten to fifteen minutes stated; much hotter and the whites are liable to toughen and weep before the yolks thicken.
- The hinge: pull it early"Quite firm, but not hard" is the whole point of the dish. The whites should be just opaque and the yolks still soft; residual heat in a hot baking dish keeps cooking them at the table. Judge by the whites, not the clock.
- Which cheeseOscar does not say. A firm cheese that melts cleanly suits the method better than a young soft one: Gruyere, Emmental or a well-aged cheddar all work, and the strips around the sides need to hold their shape long enough to brown.
- Browned breadcrumbsThese are dry crumbs toasted in a pan or a low oven until golden before use, not fresh crumbs. Panko toasted dry is a fair substitute. Sifting removes the coarse pieces that would otherwise sit unevenly under the eggs.
- The dishUse a shallow gratin dish or individual ramekins rather than anything deep. The eggs need to lie in a single layer, and depth means the bottom is still raw when the top crust is dark.
- SaltingSalt the eggs lightly and only after they are in the dish. Between the strips, the slices and the grating, there are three layers of cheese already contributing salt.
- YieldThree or four eggs serves two as a light lunch or supper dish, with bread. Scale by making a second dish rather than crowding one.
Oscar Tschirky's 1896 collection — compiled by the Waldorf's maître d'hôtel rather than written by its chef — has an egg chapter that reflects a period when "omelet" covered a much wider territory than it does now — anything eggy and pan- or oven-set could take the name, including this layered, baked construction that a French cook would have called oeufs sur le plat or a gratin. Shirred eggs, baked in a shallow dish with crumbs and butter, were a fixture of hotel and club breakfast and supper menus in the 1890s, quick to assemble to order. The instruction to serve it "as hot as possible" is the tell of a professional kitchen — a dish like this collapses into rubber within minutes of leaving the oven.