Life is Great

Jacques Pépin’s Classic French Omelet

Recipe adapted from Jacques Pépin Celebrates
Yields 1 large main course omelet

Note: You may serve the omelet on its own or anything you fancy. Here I sautéed some mushrooms and cherry tomatoes with butter, parsley and more chives. Anything with bacon is also win. From the recipe reference site you will also see Pépin’s country style omelet, very similar to the way we normally do ours, nicely brown and rustic. For a video guide on his exact moves, check this!

• 3 large eggs (I used 5 medium large)
• Dash salt and ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped mixture of chervil, tarragon, and chives
• 1 1/2 teaspoons unsalted butter

Using a fork, beat the eggs with the salt, pepper, and herbs in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a 6-8" nonstick skillet. Once butter starts to foam, pour in the eggs. Holding your fork flat, immediately start stirring the eggs quickly while shaking the pan back and forth. Continue so the eggs coagulate uniformly.

When eggs are lightly set but moist, incline your pan forward so most of the eggs gather at the far end of the pan. Stop stirring. The mass of eggs should thin out around the edges at the higher end. Using your fork, swiftly fold this thin edge toward the center of the omelet, enclosing the thick, moist center.

Press the fold into place, creating a rounded edge. Run your fork between the edge of the pan and the far edge of the omelet to loosen. Using the palm of one hand, tap the handle gently where it joins the pan, to shake the omelet and make it twist and lift onto itself, so the lip rises above the edge of the pan. Fold this lip back toward the center of the omelet, meeting and overlapping the edge of the other lip. Press down gently with the flat of the fork to shape the omelet into a point at each end.

To plate, start by holding your serving plate, bang the underside of the pan against the counter (a chopping board is advisable) at the omelet end, so the omelet moves against the edge of the pan. Invert the omelet onto the plate. Press with the flat of the fork to shape the omelet into a point at each end. Serve.