Omelet with Spinach

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •20 cm (8-inch) nonstick or well-seasoned omelet pan
• •1-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan
• •Wide skillet for the spinach
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Small whisk
• •Flexible silicone spatula or table fork

Instructions

1. 1

   Wilt and drain

   Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add the spinach by handfuls with ¼ teaspoon salt, turning each addition until it collapses before adding the next. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, just until every leaf is tender, then tip it into a fine-mesh sieve. When it is cool enough to handle, squeeze it firmly and chop it fine. If liquid still pools beneath it, squeeze again and return it to the dry skillet for 30 to 60 seconds. Ça se rattrape: unwanted moisture can be cooked away now, before it reaches the eggs.

   Dry spinach is not dry eating. Removing its water allows the measured cream to cling to the leaves instead of turning the omelet filling loose and wet.
2. 2

   Cream the spinach

   Return the chopped spinach to low heat and stir in 2 tablespoons cream, ⅛ teaspoon white pepper, and another ⅛ teaspoon salt. Cook gently until the cream binds the spinach and leaves no loose trail across the pan, about 2 minutes. You need ½ cup of filling in all. Divide it into four portions of exactly 2 tablespoons and keep them warm; overfilling is generosity in the wrong place, because the roll will split.

3. 3

   Build the sauce

   Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in the flour and cook this roux blanc (white roux) for 1 minute without allowing it to color. Whisk in the ½ cup milk in three additions, smoothing each one before the next, then simmer gently for 3 minutes. Add the ¼ cup cream, ⅛ teaspoon salt, and a small pinch of white pepper. Simmer until the sauce crème coats a spoon yet still pours in a narrow thread. If it lumps, take it off the heat and whisk firmly or pass it through the sieve. If it grows too thick, loosen it with the reserved milk, one teaspoon at a time.

   The sauce must ring the omelet, not blanket it. When it falls from the spoon in a continuous ribbon rather than a heavy blob, it is ready.
4. 4

   Set the service

   Keep the spinach and sauce crème warm over the lowest heat, stirring them occasionally. Warm four plates in a 200°F (95°C) oven for 5 minutes, then turn the oven off. Crack only 3 eggs at a time into a bowl, season with one quarter of the remaining salt and white pepper, and beat with a fork just until yolks and whites are joined. Froth gives height for a moment, then coarse holes; this omelet wants a close, tender surface.

5. 5

   Cook each omelet

   Heat a 20 cm (8-inch) omelet pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter and swirl it across the base. When the foam subsides but the butter remains pale, pour in one bowl of eggs. Shake the pan while stirring rapidly with a fork or silicone spatula, drawing the setting egg into small, soft curds for 10 to 15 seconds. Stop stirring, smooth the eggs into an even layer, and cook only until the underside is set while the surface remains moist and glossy. If the base begins coloring too quickly, lift the pan from the heat and keep it moving; residual heat will finish the surface without toughening it.

6. 6

   Fill and roll

   Place one 2-tablespoon portion of creamed spinach across the center of the eggs. Fold the near third over the filling, tilt the pan away from you, and roll the omelet toward the far rim. Invert it seam-side down onto a warm plate and shape it gently through a clean towel if needed. If the roll tears, tuck the opening underneath and bring the edges together; the seam and sauce will hold it neatly. Spoon about 2 tablespoons sauce crème in a fine thread around the omelet, never over its tender surface. Repeat with the remaining eggs, butter, spinach, and sauce, serving each omelet as it leaves the pan. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use a 20 cm (8-inch) pan for each three-egg omelet. In a larger pan the eggs spread too thin and set before they can roll; in a smaller one they become thick and stubborn.
• •Frozen leaf spinach is the classical pantry's honest answer when the fresh leaves are tired. Thaw it completely and squeeze with real conviction before adding cream; the rest of the method does not change.
• •Call everyone to the table before the first eggs enter the pan. The filling and sauce may wait gently, but a finished French omelet should not. Cooking well is not cooking fancy; it is knowing what can wait.
• •For anyone who needs fully set eggs, use pasteurized eggs or keep the pan over gentle heat until no liquid egg remains. Lower heat preserves tenderness better than rushing.

Advance Preparation

• •The creamed spinach and sauce crème can be prepared up to 24 hours ahead, cooled promptly, covered, and chilled separately. Reheat both over low heat, loosening the sauce with a teaspoon or two of milk if it has tightened.
• •Do not cook the omelets ahead. Portion the filling, warm the plates, and beat each three-egg batch only when its pan is ready; four omelets take about 6 minutes once the mise en place is complete.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)