Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Fluffy Omelet ふわふわオムレツ

My wife is really into breakfast recently. Every weekend, she suggests something different. This weekend morning, she saw this fluffy omelet  recipe in the printed version of "Cook illustrated" and asked me to come up with the topping (or stuffing) for it. Although the recipe included two examples of stuffing, we did not have the ingredients for either of them. So I decided to "wing-it". This is something between Spanish "Tortilla" and French "soufflé".

Ingredients for one 8 inch omelet:

For Omelet:
Eggs (two large, yolk and white separated)
Butter, Melted unsalted (1/2 tbs)
Butter, unsalted (1/2 tbs)
Salt (1/8 tsp)
Cream of tartar (1/8 tsp)

For stuffing:
Shallot (1 medium, finely chopped)
Shiitake mushroom (fresh, two medium, stem removed and finely sliced).
Roasted pork filet (arbitrary amount, sliced and cut into wide strips or bacon)
Spinach (baby spinach, one handful)
Cheeses (smoked gouda, finely diced and parmisiano reggiano (grated), amount arbitrary).

Beat the egg yolks and mix in the melted butter and set aside. In a standing mixer, add the egg white and sprinkle cream of tartar and beat it to stiff peak stage (#1). Fold in the egg yolk mixture until no white steaks are visible (#2). Melt the reaming butter in a 8 inch non-stick frying pan on medium heat until foam forms and add in the egg mixture and add topping and cheeses (#3). Place the pan into the pre-heated 375F oven (#4) and bake for 5 minutes (We did not use pasteurized eggs and wanted it to be completely cooked). If it springs back when lightly pressed it is complete done (#5). Tip the omelet onto the cutting board and let it rest for 30 seconds before cutting (#6).

Note: The original recipe for 2 servings called for 4 eggs and folded the omelet into half and then cut it into two portions. We used 2 eggs and did not fold the omelet.
Stuffing: I added olive oil (1 tsp) and butter (1/2 tsp) into a non-stick frying pan and sautéed the shallot for few minutes. I added the shiitake mushroom and sautéed for another minute or two. I then seasoned it with salt and pepper. I added the pork and then the spinach and cooked until spinach wilted.

This is a very good omelet with a unique texture. It is rather fluffy and the topping I made was great. We may have put on too much cheese but there is no such a thing as too much cheese in general.

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