Omelet with Mousserons

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch (30 cm) seasoned carbon-steel omelet pan or nonstick skillet
• •Small flexible heatproof spatula
• •1-quart (1-liter) saucepan
• •Warm oval serving platter
• •Pastry brush or soft mushroom brush

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the mousserons

   Brush the mousserons carefully, trim away any tough or gritty stem ends, and mince the caps and tender stems evenly. Avoid washing them unless dirt demands it; if you must rinse them, do it quickly and dry them thoroughly before mincing. Wet mushrooms spend their first minutes boiling in their own water, and the omelet needs them tossed in butter.

   Use only commercially sourced or expertly identified mushrooms. Mousserons have dangerous wild lookalikes, and no recipe, description, or photograph can establish that a foraged mushroom is safe.
2. 2

   Ready sauce and platter

   Warm an oval serving platter. Put the finished demi-glace in a small saucepan over the gentlest heat and bring it only to a glossy, pourable consistency, never a boil. Keep it warm while you make the omelet. It must be ready first because the eggs cannot wait while a cold sauce wakes up.

3. 3

   Mix eggs and parsley

   Break the eggs into a bowl, add the salt and chopped parsley, and mix briskly with a fork until the whites and yolks are fully joined but not whipped into a froth. Airy eggs puff unevenly and make folding awkward; the classical omelet wants a close, tender curd.

4. 4

   Toss mushrooms in butter

   Heat a 12-inch omelet pan over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of the butter. When the foam subsides, add the minced mousserons and toss them continuously for 2 to 3 minutes. They will first shine, then release a little moisture, and finally smell concentrated and woodsy as the pan becomes dry again. If liquid remains, do not add the eggs. Keep tossing until it evaporates; Ça se rattrape, but only before the eggs go in.

5. 5

   Cook and fold

   Add the remaining tablespoon of butter around the mushrooms. As soon as it melts and foams, pour in the parsleyed eggs. Stir rapidly with a flexible spatula while shaking the pan, drawing the setting egg from the edges toward the center until small, moist curds form and the surface remains glossy, about 1 minute. Stop stirring, spread the eggs evenly, and let the base set for another 20 to 30 seconds. Fold the far third toward the center, then roll the near edge over it to form a plump oval. If the egg catches at one point, lift the pan off the heat, ease the spatula beneath that spot, and roll away from it rather than scraping. Ça se rattrape, and the seam will be hidden underneath.

6. 6

   Dish and encircle

   Turn the omelet seam-side down onto the warm platter and use the spatula to neaten its oval shape. Spoon the warm half-glaze in a fine, unbroken thread around the omelet, never across the top; its depth should frame the eggs, not smother the mousserons. Carry it to the table immediately, while the surface still gleams with butter and the center remains baveuse. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Mousseron is a market name with more than one botanical meaning. For this recipe, ask specifically for fresh fairy-ring mushrooms, Marasmius oreades, from a reputable seller. Never make the identification yourself from appearance alone.
• •The source insists on very fresh mousserons, and it is right. Dried fairy-ring mushrooms carry perfume but not the tender texture required for this quick butter toss. If fresh ones cannot be had, wait for them or make an omelette aux champignons instead; it will be a good cousin, but a different dish.
• •Buy finished demi-glace rather than a salty concentrate. If concentrate is all you have, reconstitute it fully according to its directions before measuring the two tablespoons. The sauce should flow from the spoon in a fine glossy cordon.
• •Eight eggs need a 12-inch pan. In a smaller pan they sit too deep, the bottom toughens before the top sets, and folding becomes unnecessary theater. Cooking well is not cooking fancy; sometimes it is simply using the pan that fits.
• •For supper, pour a light red such as Beaujolais, served slightly cool. Its fruit and gentle structure suit the mushrooms and demi-glace without bullying the eggs.

Advance Preparation

• •The mousserons can be cleaned, trimmed, and minced up to 4 hours ahead. Keep them covered and refrigerated, then blot away any surface moisture before they meet the butter.
• •Measure the demi-glace and chop the parsley earlier in the day, but mix the eggs only when the pan is heating. The finished omelet cannot be held or reheated without losing its tender center.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 110g)