The Omelette Souffle'

I am supposed to be baking right now. I’ve been brainstorming a recipe for Red Stag Cherry Blondies and just switched tracks from toasting walnuts for those boozy bars to whipping up this AMAZING puffy, fluffy, fabulous omelette souffle’ with a bit of a cheesy crust. Enter aged Asiago, a stunningly red and juicy homegrown tomato, some freshly cut (yanked, more like) chives and flat leaf parsley. OMG. This is my new favorite way of preparing an omelette. I MUST SHARE THIS WITH YOU NOW! It can’t wait. I am not sure if this problem has to do with right brain / left brain issues or if it is more likely to be blondie brain / omelette brain issues. In any case, I know it’s abnormal.

So, ever since I read this recipe and laid my eyes on a picture of a domed and gorgeous omelette in a pan, I’ve been wanting to test it out. It’s only been about a day and a half since I received the email from Food and Wine’s “The Dish”, featuring fluffy omelette recipes (there are many more to try).......but, for me, it seems much longer.

This wonderful recipe is from the book, Ideas in Food - Great Recipes And Why They Work, by Aki Kamozawa and H. Alexander Talbot. 

I’m thinking, 3 eggs, a little cheese and butter! I love recipes like this. The simpler, the better. It’s ALL ABOUT THE METHOD! and . . . of course, the quality of each individual ingredient. Great eggs. Great cheese. Great butter. You get the picture.

Ohhhh, I am sooo happy I just made this (and scarfed it)! Enjoy this recipe and make it when a friend stops by and you have “nothing in the house”. (I’ll bet you have eggs, though). They will LOVE you. What a fabulous little lunch with a fresh green salad, some great bread and a chilled glass of white wine. For me, it was marvelous with my just-picked tomato and the chives and parsley that I ran out and grabbed while the omelette was magically transforming under the heat of the broiler (only 3 minutes to happiness!). This is quick, scrumptious AND healthy! It only took a few minutes, start to finish.

Here is the original recipe (and see my notes below about improvising):

Omelette Souffle’

3 large eggs, separated

pinch of sea salt

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

Preheat the broiler and position a rack in the center of the oven. In a large bowl, using a whisk or a handheld electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the salt and 1/4 of the beaten egg whites. Fold the yolk mixture into the remaining beaten whites until no streaks remain. In an 8 inch oven- proof skillet, melt the butter. Scrape the omelette mixture into the skillet and shake gently to evenly distribute the eggs. Sprinkle the cheese all over and transfer the skillet to the oven. Broil for about 3 minutes, until lightly browned and very puffy. Carefully slide onto a plate, folding it in half. Serve right away.

KPK STEP-BY-STEP PICTORIAL OF THE PROCESS JUST 4 U

Eggs & Cheese

Melted Butter

Whites on the left; Yolks with 1/4 of the whites incorporated on the right

F-o-l-d

Waiting for a cheese sprinkle

Right out of the oven in all it's beauty

Slightly deflated but still beautiful

Mostly in my stomach

KPK HELPFUL STUFF & IMPROVISATION:  I used kosher salt. I used grated, aged Asiago cheese (less than 1/2 cup; more like 1/4 to 1/3). I used my electric mixer with the whisk attachment. And, I used about a tablespoon of butter. Point is, learn the technique. When there are only a few ingredients, substitutes usually don't make sense but for this recipe, I know other cheeses will be delicious. I may add chopped chives to the egg mixture. I probably wouldn’t go any crazier because the basic method for transforming 3 eggs and a little cheese is fantastic just the way it is! Oh, also, when you fold that beautiful creation onto the plate, each bite of will give you a little of that crusty cheesiness on both the top AND the bottom. Brilliant!

Bon Appetit’ my friends : )

ELEVATE YOUR EGGS TODAY!

Love, Katie

This just in: I whipped up two more of these for dinner and they were even fluffier and puffier (?) WT? Gorgeous.

I also made one using just two eggs and it came out perfectly.   I will say that if you overbeat the egg whites past the soft peak stage and into the stiff peak stage, your omelette will be super duper puffy but not as moist and delicious. So, exercise some restraint and don't keep whipping even though it's so much fun to watch egg whites transform! LOL. 

KPK Pointer: Cover the handle of your fry pan / omelette pan with aluminum foil to protect it if you're not sure if it's ovenproof. I do it anyway.