I just reviewed the new 2018 edition of Eggs by Michel Roux, which happens to be nearly the same as the 2005 edition. When I was growing up, the idea of an “omelet” was, well, foreign in my house. My mother and father would roll their eyes at the word. My father would go further and mutter something about France or the French or both.
My father was not a nice man.
This recipe is more than nice. For breakfast, for brunch, for lunch, for dinner. I won’t go further into the night, but, but I can see eating this at 2AM in the morning. With wine.
The amazing thing about omelets is that they are so simple to make and so delicious. You really don’t need the home fries on the side. But, golly, at 2AM why not go for it.
Mussel and Chive Omelet
Yield: serves 2
Ingredients:
- 3 ½ tablespoons dry white wine
- 1 thyme sprig
- 16 fresh mussels, scrubbed
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon snipped chives
- 4 eggs
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Clarified butter, optional, for garnish [How to clarify butter? Look at page 87 in your copy of Eggs.]
Preparation:
Put the wine, thyme and mussels in a small saucepan, cover tightly and cook for a few minutes until the mussels have steamed open. Shell them immediately and place in a bowl, discarding any mussels! that have not opened. Strain the juices through a muslin-lined sieve into a small clean pan, to eliminate any sand.
Simmer the mussel juices over low heat until reduced by half, then add the cream and let it bubble until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Turn off the heat, add the chives and mussels, and keep warm (but not hot).
Beat the eggs in a bowl, season lightly and use to make an omelet. Half-roll it, then add the creamy mussels and push I them into the middle with a spoon. Roll the omelet and slide it onto a warm large plate. To make it look even more appetizing, you could brush it with a little clarified butter.
Source: Michel Roux Eggs [Quadrille, 2018]