Omelet à la Paysanne

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •10-inch (25 cm) nonstick or well-seasoned carbon-steel skillet
• •11-inch (28 cm) flat lid or rimless plate for turning
• •Round serving dish
• •Flexible heatproof spatula
• •Medium mixing bowl and fork or whisk

Instructions

1. 1

   Cut the garnishes

   Slice the peeled potato paper-thin, then cut the slices into small pieces and measure 1½ tablespoons. Cisel the sorrel, meaning cut it crosswise into very fine ribbons. Concass the chervil, meaning chop it roughly rather than mincing it into paste. Beat the eggs with the salt only until the whites and yolks join; a bowlful of foam makes a coarse omelette. Set a flat lid or rimless plate wider than the skillet beside the stove now, before both hands become busy.

2. 2

   Sauté the potato

   Melt 1 teaspoon of the butter in the skillet over medium heat. Sauté the potato, meaning cook it quickly in butter, keeping the slices in one layer until tender and lightly golden at their edges, about 3 minutes. If they color before they soften, lower the heat and cover the pan for 20 seconds. Measure 1 tablespoon of the cooked potato into a small bowl; the deliberately small measure supports the eggs without turning the omelette into hash.

   A waxy potato holds a distinct tender slice. A floury potato tends to crumble into the eggs and muddies the clean, flat texture.
3. 3

   Stew the sorrel

   Lower the heat and melt another teaspoon of butter in the same skillet. Add the ciseled sorrel and turn it through the butter for 20 to 30 seconds, just until it collapses into a dark green tangle. It will look like almost nothing. That is exactly right; sorrel speaks through acidity, not bulk. Add it to the potato, let both cool for 2 minutes, then stir them into the eggs with the concassed chervil.

4. 4

   Frizzle the bacon

   Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add 2 teaspoons of butter with the diced bacon. Frizzle the bacon for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until its fat turns translucent and its edges take a deep bronze without becoming hard. Spread the dice evenly and leave them in the pan. If the bacon has released more than a thin glossy film of fat, spoon away the excess; the eggs should gleam, not swim.

5. 5

   Set the eggs softly

   Add the remaining butter if the skillet looks dry, then pour the egg mixture over the bacon in one sweep. Cook quickly over medium-high heat, shaking the skillet and drawing the set edges inward once or twice so uncooked egg reaches the hot surface. Stop stirring while the omelette is still flat. It is ready to turn when the underside is lightly golden, the edges release, and the surface is moist but no longer sloshes, about 60 to 90 seconds. If the bottom colors while loose egg remains on top, pull the skillet off the heat, cover it for 20 seconds, and return it over gentler heat. Ça se rattrape.

6. 6

   Turn and serve

   Take the skillet off the heat and loosen the edge with a flexible spatula. Cover it with the flat lid or rimless plate, grip both firmly with dry oven mitts, and invert in one decisive motion. Slide the omelette back into the skillet with its soft side down and cook for only 15 to 20 seconds. If an edge tears, fit it back into place and press gently; this final contact with the pan will seal it. Tilt the whole omelette immediately onto a round serving dish, bronzed side up, and bring it to the table while the center remains tender. À table!

   Do not use the turning plate as the serving dish because it has touched the soft egg. Keep a clean round plate ready for the final tilt from the skillet.

Chef Tips

• •Choose bacon from the streaked belly, lightly smoked or unsmoked, with enough fat to frizzle properly. Sweet-cured bacon overwhelms the sorrel and chervil; this omelette wants pork, butter, and herbs, not sugar.
• •Fresh sorrel provides the little blade of acidity that keeps the omelette lively. Plain frozen sorrel is an honest alternative out of season: thaw it, squeeze it dry, and measure the same amount. Spinach gives color but not the necessary sharpness.
• •Use a 10-inch skillet for eight eggs. A much larger pan spreads them into a fragile sheet, while a smaller one makes a thick omelette that sets outside before the center is ready to turn.
• •This omelette waits for no one. Set out the plates before the eggs enter the skillet, then serve at once. Leftovers may be chilled promptly and kept for 1 day, but the tender center is at its best straight from the pan.

Advance Preparation

• •The potato may be sautéed and the sorrel stewed up to 4 hours ahead. Cool them promptly, cover and chill them separately, then take them from the cold 15 minutes before mixing with the eggs.
• •The bacon may be diced 1 day ahead and kept covered in the cold. Beat the eggs and concass the chervil only when the skillet and turning plate are ready.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 110g)