Omelet with Young Shoots of Hops

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •8-inch (20 cm) nonstick or well-seasoned omelette pan
• •1-quart (1 L) small saucepan
• •2-quart (2 L) saucepan for blanching
• •Fine-mesh skimmer
• •Flexible heatproof spatula or table fork
• •Clean kitchen towels
• •Small sharp knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Blanch the shoots

   Bring 2 quarts (2 L) water to a lively boil with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g) of the salt. Add the hop shoots and blanch until a stem yields cleanly between your teeth but still holds its shape, 2 to 4 minutes; slender green tips cook faster than thick pale shoots. Lift them into cold water just long enough to stop the cooking, then drain and press them thoroughly dry between clean towels. Reserve 12 to 16 handsome whole shoots for the garnish. Leave short tender tips whole and cut longer stems into 1-inch (2.5 cm) lengths.

   Taste one shoot before draining the pan. If its base remains stringy after blanching, trim that part away; cream can soften bitterness, but it cannot civilize fiber.
2. 2

   Bind with cream

   Keep 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) of the cream cold. Simmer the remaining cream in a small saucepan until reduced by about one third and thick enough to nap the back of a spoon, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer 1 tablespoon of the reduction to a small cup and whisk in 1 tablespoon of the reserved cold cream; this is the optional cream sauce for the finish. Add the cut shoots to the saucepan and simmer for 30 to 60 seconds, until the cream clings to them and leaves no loose puddle. Season lightly with salt and white pepper, then divide into four level 2-tablespoon portions. If the cream turns oily or grainy, take it off the heat and stir in the remaining cold cream a teaspoon at a time. Ça se rattrape. Hold the filling barely warm.

   Binding is the point, not abundance. The cream should make the shoots cohere so they stay inside the roll; a wet filling runs out and tears the omelette.
3. 3

   Arrange the station

   Warm four plates and set the four portions of filling, the reserved whole shoots, the butter, and the optional cream sauce beside the stove. If using the sauce, keep its cup in a bowl of warm water. Beat only 3 eggs for the first omelette with 1/4 teaspoon of the remaining salt and a small pinch of white pepper, working with a fork just until yolks and whites become one even yellow mixture. Don't beat in a cap of air; this omelette should be supple, not spongy.

4. 4

   Cook the omelette

   Heat an 8-inch (20 cm) omelette pan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter, reserving another 1/2 tablespoon for shaping and finishing. When the butter foams briskly but has not browned, pour in the eggs. Stir rapidly with a fork or flexible spatula while shaking the pan, drawing the setting egg toward the center for 20 to 30 seconds. Stop stirring when the base holds and the surface remains glossy without a pool of raw egg, then spread one 2-tablespoon portion of the creamed shoots across the center. If the eggs begin setting too fast, lift the pan from the heat and keep shaking and stirring; ça se rattrape while the surface is still moist. If an edge catches, slip a small piece of the reserved butter beneath it rather than scraping.

5. 5

   Roll and open

   Fold the near third of the omelette over the filling, tilt the pan away from you, and roll the omelette toward the far lip. Turn it seam-side down onto a warm plate and rub the surface with the remaining butter. With the point of a small knife, make a shallow slit lengthwise along the crown, cutting only the upper skin, and ease it open slightly. Lay 3 or 4 reserved hop shoots in the opening and, if desired, surround the omelette with a thin thread of the warm cream sauce. Repeat with the remaining eggs and filling. Bring the omelettes out in pairs rather than holding them until they toughen; a proper omelette is allowed to dictate service. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Buy shoots that are slender, crisp, and no longer than a hand. Pale shoots raised away from light are especially mild; the first green tips have a little more herbal bitterness, but both belong here.
• •This dish truly needs its season. If fresh hop shoots aren't available, don't replace them with hop flowers or mature vines. Cook an omelette aux pointes d'asperges (omelette with asparagus tips) until the hop shoots return; it is the honest cousin, not the same dish.
• •Use a small pan and make four individual omelettes. One enormous twelve-egg roll is not efficient scaling; its outside toughens before its center is ready, and the delicate filling disappears inside it.
• •A dry Sylvaner from Alsace has enough freshness for the eggs and cream without covering the shoots. A restrained bière de garde from French Flanders is equally at home if you want the hop plant echoed gently in the glass.

Advance Preparation

• •The hop shoots can be blanched, dried, and refrigerated for up to 6 hours. Keep the garnish shoots whole and wrapped separately, then bring everything out of the cold 20 minutes before cooking.
• •The cream-bound filling can be made up to 1 hour ahead and reheated over the gentlest heat. If it tightens, loosen it with a teaspoon of cream.
• •Set the plates, filling, garnish, sauce, and pan in place before guests sit down, but don't beat the eggs ahead. Once beaten, they lose body while they wait, and the omelettes themselves must be cooked at the last moment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 205g)