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judy on Ask Bob Hart a food question Bob, was driving on the Hume Highway on 26/04/12 and heard your delicious steak sauce recipe with Asian ingredients. Could I ... more
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Bob Hart's Perfect French Omelette

Posted by: Bob Hart | 20 October, 2011 - 3:14 PM

Chefs often talk about ways in which they test trainees before they hire them. And the most common way, apparently, is to ask the aspiring chef to make them an omelette.

So, if you were asked by a chef to make an omelette, how would you do it? It's one of those dishes that is easy to make, but difficult to make perfectly. But let's try:

My favourite omelette is one of the simplest - a three egg French omelette flavoured with chopped chives and a pinch of cayenne. Nothing more.

To make it, you will need a very good pan. I user a 25cm non-stick pan - mine is German - which I use for nothing else. And if you are serious about omelettes, you will do the same.

Place the pan on medium-high gas and add a good knob of butter. Now, the eggs:

Break three free-range, room temperature eggs into a bowl. Add salt, freshly ground pepper, a pinch of cayenne and a generous tablespoon of freshly chopped chives. Now, beat the eggs vigorously. If you have head somebody suggest you should only beat them gently, forget it. Whip the whites and yolks together, and get some air into them. I use a flat, nylon whisk, but a sturdy plastic fork will get the job done.

By now, your pan should be hot and the butter melted (but not burned!). Pour the eggs into the pan and continue to whisk them with your left hand while you shake the pan with your right. Practice. Get plenty of energy into both actions. This will quickly scramble and begin to evenly cook the eggs.

Immediately, push any lacy edge towards the centre of the pan, and then fold the edges nearest to you about half way across the omelette which should, incidentally, still be quite wet. Now, holding the pan in your right hand, tap the handle quite sharply with your left hand; you will find you can flick the far side of the omelette back towards the centre, making a sausage-shaped omelette which is still quite wet inside, evenly yellow outside.

Let this sit in the pan for a few seconds over the heat to cook slightly, and then pick up a warm plate in your left hand. Lift the pan towards the plate and upend the omelette onto the plate by lifting the handle towards the ceiling and turning the pan upside down, but along the line of the handle. Never tilt it sideways.

And there you have it: a moist, evenly coloured and perfect French omelette. And if you have nothing of the sort, however, go back to the beginning and start again.

3AW Food Directory

3AW is Food: Melburnians love to eat so it's fortunate we live in the culinary capital of Australia. On this dedicated food page you will find the latest recipes by Bob Hart as well as Tony Leonard's Pub of the Week reviews. La Luna head chef Adrian Richardson also serves up a dish from his own cook book and food reviewer Ela Carte visits one of Melbourne's hottest eateries weekly.

Blog comments

what a load of rot you lost me when you said not to use an expensive NON STICK pan for anything else no reason if properly looked after it would not perform well for several duties

stephen kaytar Friday 21 October, 2011 - 5:58 PM