Omelet with Asparagus-tops

Omelette aux pointes d'asperges (French omelet with asparagus tips) teaches controlled speed. The one true thing to know before touching the pan is that the asparagus, butter, plates, and diners must all be ready. Once the eggs begin to set, the dish won't wait while you search for anything.

The original entry assumes a vegetable station with blanched asparagus ready for service and an omelet cook turning out each portion to order. It needs no saucier on staff, stockpot, or salamander. At home, prepare Blanchings (No. 273) once, stew all the tips gently in butter, then cook four individual omelets in quick succession using the same pan. Holding trays of garnish are brigade scaffolding and can go; the two-stage treatment of the asparagus, one and one-half tablespoonfuls folded into each omelet and a whole-tip bundle displayed on top, is the dish and must stay.

The finished omelette should be pale butter-yellow, tender enough to yield under a fork, and green at its opened crown. Pull each omelet from the heat while its surface still shines with barely set egg. That is the step that decides the dish.