I often make omelets for breakfast, and I thought I knew quite well how to cook them. Following this recipe, however, the omelet turned out extra good. I was also glad to find a recipe that called for chervil, as it is still thriving well in my garden.
This recipe is also in two parts – the way recipes are often presented in La Cuisine is to have a basic recipe that is then added to in many variations. The first recipe is a basic omelet recipe:
OMELETTE AU NATUREL
OMELETTE AUX FINES HERBES
This is an omelette au naturel, to which was added to the eggs, when they were beaten up, one soup spoon of parsley and chervil, well chopped.
6 eggs
It is time to take a spatula and carefully fold one edge over the other so the omelet is folded in half. Serve right away.
Notes: I’m not sure how large R. Blondeau’s frying pan was, but six eggs did not fit in my large cast iron frying pan and have room to be tipped around! The second time round, I cooked the six eggs in two batches, and it turned out as described. Definitely use a very well-seasoned pan, and you really do have to tip the pan constantly as it cooks or it will stick (as I found out!). Using a generous pat of butter helps, too. The omelets cooked this way all turned out perfectly done. I realized I have been overcooking omelets before, which makes them less tasty and heavier on your stomach.
{These French recipes are from a cookbook titled La Cuisine: Guide Practique de la Ménagère by Chef R. Blondeau. This book was passed down to me from my great-grandmother, who was from Alsace, a North-eastern region on the Rhine river plain in France. It was published in 1930 as a guide for household cooks.
I am translating the recipes from French, testing them out with home-grown or raised food, and re-writing them in a modern format}