CHECK YOUR CHOLESTEROL AT THE DOOR: ARNOLD BENNET OMELETTE

On the BBC website, mention was made of an egg dish from the Savoy Hotel in London, named after a novelist.
Far be it from me to pass up an opportunity to waffle on about eggs.
Especially when they are combined with Hollandaise sauce.
Can I resist a condiment named after my distantly ancestral country?
Oh golly heck no.
Bring it on.
Butter!
Eggs.

The 'Omelette Arnold Bennet' is an open-faced dish consisting of œufs and smoked fish made dangerous with fromage and a butter sauce.
It is allegedly suitable for breakfast, but it actually makes a far better lunch, with a mound of steamed rice, some bokchoi or gailan, and a glob of sambal.


THE OMELETTE

Four to six ounces of smoked haddock.
Half a cup of half and half (American cream).
Half a cup of Hollandaise (see below).
Three eggs.
Two TBS butter.
Over a quarter cup of grated cheese.
Parsley, chives, cilantro, any or all, finely minced.

Poach the haddock for a few minutes in the half and half. Let it cool, then flake it. And note that if you cannot find British haddock, any smoked oily fish will do. Even snoek.

Whisk the three eggs with a little bit of the fishy half and half, once it has cooled enough. Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pan which is suitable for omelettes, and pour in the egg mixture. When it starts to set, add the haddock, a liberal drooling of Hollandaise, and sprinkle the grated cheese over. Put it under the broiler until the cheese has melted and there are a few minor brown spots.

Garnish liberally with the minced green stuff.


HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

Two egg yolks.
Six TBS butter.
Two Tsp. lemon juice.
A few drops of wine vinegar.
A few drops of Worcestershire sauce.
Pinches of salt and white pepper.

Melt the butter in a saucepan, removing it from the heat before the last bit of butter has liquefied. Put the egg yolks in a clean metal bowl over a warm water bath. Whisk smoothly yet briskly with the lemon juice and vinegar till well-blended. Add the Worcestershire, then pour in a little of the melted butter, whisk to incorporate, and drizzle in a little more, whisking the while. Continue till all the butter has been incorporated and the sauce is creamy and velvety. Take care that it does not get warm enough to settle the yolks; that's very bad, and you won't like it.

If you are worried about raw yolks, cook them first, then moosh them very smooth. Blend in the lemon juice, vinegar, and Worcestershire, then include the melted butter while continuing to moosh, and pour the warm sauce through a tea strainer to ensure that there are no lumps.

Either way, finish with a pinch of salt and some finely ground white pepper.



Note that when making omelettes, I will usually add a teaspoon or two of tapioca flour to the eggs, which helps form a nicely set layer without any need for over-cooking. And, speaking of such things, why so many American restaurants whip the eggs and construct huge inedible fluffy dried-out omelettes filled with air baffles the crap out of me.
An omelette should be still runny or barely set.
Overcooked egg-poof is not an omelette.




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