Cook with Jacques and Friends

I love eggs, and I make omelets all of the time in all types of shapes and sizes. One isn’t better than the other, it’s about texture, one is firmer, dryer and browner than the other is softer, moister and paler in color, so it really depends on the mood you are in.

Standard Omelet and Classic French Omelet

Jacques Pépin

Jacques Pépin

Category

Eggs

Serves

Makes 1 of each omelet

Standard Omelet

Ingredients

  • 3 large eggs
  • Pinch fine sea salt
  • Pinch freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons minced herbs: chives, flat-leaf parsley, chervil, tarragon or a combination (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus additional as needed

Method

  1. Crack the eggs into a small bowl. Add the salt and pepper. Using a fork, pierce the yolks and whip, moving back and forth across the bowl to break up the whites until very smooth and well combined. Add the herbs if using.
  2. In a small (6- to 7-inch) nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Once foaming, pour the egg mixture into the center of the pan. Stir the curds as they set pulling the edges toward the center, allowing the runny parts to fill in the areas between the curds. Continue in this manner until most of the eggs are set, but the center of the omelet is still moist.
  3. Fold the omelet in thirds or in half. If you like, add a little more (1 to 2 teaspoons) of butter to the pan to brown the underside. (You will notice that the outside of this standard omelet will have a golden-brown color as opposed to the classic French omelet, which is pale yellow.) Invert the omelet onto a plate and serve immediately.

Classic French Omelet

Ingredients

  • 3 large eggs
  • Pinch fine sea salt
  • Pinch freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon minced herbs: chives, flat-leaf parsley, chervil, tarragon or a combination
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Method

  1. Crack the eggs into a small bowl. Add the salt and pepper. Using a fork, pierce the yolks and whip, moving back and forth across the bowl to break up the whites until very smooth and well combined. Add the herbs if using.
  2. In a small (6- to 7-inch) nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Once foaming, lower the heat to medium and pour the egg mixture into the center of the pan. Hold the fork flat and stir the eggs as quickly as you can, bringing the curds from the outside into the center, while continuously shaking the pan. Continue shaking and stirring without stopping so the eggs coagulate uniformly. Lift the handle end to incline the pan forward so most of the eggs gather at the opposite side of the pan as they set. Stop stirring while the eggs are still moist in the center.
  3. Using your fork, bring the near lip over, gently rolling it toward the center of the omelet and pressing it in place. Run the fork between the edge of the pan and the far lip of the omelet to loosen it. Using the palm of your hand, tap the handle of the pan to shake the omelet and make it lift back, onto itself as the far lip rises from the edge of the pan. Fold the far lip toward the center of the omelet to meet with the opposite lip. Press the fold with the flat of the fork and shape the omelet to come to a point at each end.
  4. While holding the serving plate in your left hand, bang the end of the pan gently so the omelet pulls together against the edge of the pan, then invert the omelet onto a plate. The omelet should be very moist and creamy, and still wet in the center. Serve immediately.

In this volume Recipes from Friends

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