L’Omelette Familiale

I’m just like any working mom, sometimes so busy that dinnertime sneaks up on me. When it does, I do what the typical French mom does. I make an omelette for supper. Nothing is easier.

This omelette is one of our favorites because it’s hearty and we love the combination of flavors. If I have leftover potatoes I use them, otherwise it’s a quick 15 minutes from raw to cooked potato so I can have this omelette on the table in less than a half an hour. With a big green salad or a pile of green beans, it makes a wonderful supper!

This omelette isn’t folded over, but is served “in the round,” like a pizza. It looks gorgeous on the plate, with a quick little garnish of flat leaf parsley or any garden herb.

I open a light Sauvignon Blanc from the Touraine to enjoy here, such as one from the Domaine du Vieil Orme.

Astuces: French omelettes are runny. If you prefer your eggs cooked through, you may want to cover the pan so that the egg cooks on top as well as the bottom. Before you do that, though, try an omelette the French way because you are likely to find it simply scrumptious.

A good egg is a beautiful thing indeed, and the best eggs come from happy, lively chickens who eat yummy bugs and grains at will. Eggs like these come from a farm where chickens are properly taken care of, or from market, or a supermarket who does the right thing.

As for keeping eggs at room temperature, it isn’t recommended for a variety of reasons. That said, I keep mine at room temperature (my kitchen is cool – about 68° F; 20° C) so they are ready when I am, because a cold egg won’t react in the same way as an egg at room temperature. I use up eggs within a week. (See egg box page 61, Cooking at Home On Rue Tatin).

6 large eggs

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1-½ tablespoons unsalted butter

4 ounces (120g) slab bacon, rind removed, cut into ½ x 1-inch (1.3 x 2.5cm) pieces

8 ounces (250g) waxy potatoes, cooked, skinned, and sliced

3 ounces (90g) fresh goat cheese

1 small bunch fresh chives

  1. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the eggs until they are just blended. Whisk in salt and pepper to taste.
  2. Melt the butter with the bacon and the potatoes in a 12-inch (30cm), nonstick omelette pan over medium high heat until the bacon and potatoes are sizzling and the butter is foaming. Cook the bacon and the potatoes until they are beginning to turn golden at the edges, 3 to 4 minutes. If the bacon gives up a great deal of fat, then drain off all but 2 tablespoons, then add the egg mixture to the pan and stir, then let the egg mixture sit. Working all around the pan at least twice, bring the cooked edges of the egg toward the center so the uncooked egg runs to the edges, meanwhile spreading out the bacon and the potatoes.
  3. Crumble the goat cheese over the potatoes and the bacon.
  4. Mince the chives and sprinkle all but 1 tablespoon of them over the potatoes and the bacon.
  5. When the omelette is generally set but still somewhat liquid, or when it is cooked to your liking, place a large plate on top of the pan, and turn the pan so the omelette falls onto the plate. Garnish it with more chives and serve immediately.

4 serving


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