How to Make the Perfect Omelet with Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli _ Alex's Day Off _ Food Network
The Art of Making a Simple yet Perfect Omelette
The art of making a simple omelette is truly a joy to behold. As our host begins, she starts by adding just a splash of olive oil to her cast iron skillet, which has been heated to perfection. A pound of white button mushrooms, freshly rinsed and added to the pan, are loaded with water, so it's essential to be generous with the salt and black pepper. The addition of fresh thyme and garlic adds a depth of flavor that complements the earthy sweetness of the mushrooms.
Next, our host wants to make some toast because she wants to showcase that homemade butter they made earlier. She's a big fan of sourdough bread, with its tangy and slightly sweet flavor profile, which is her personal favorite. The toast needs to be thick enough to stand up to the richness of the butter, so it's being prepared in the oven instead of a toaster. To add an extra layer of depth to the mushrooms, she decides to add dry marsala wine to the pan, which is then pulled off the heat and added back on with about a quarter cup.
The marsala brings out the natural sweetness of the mushrooms, while also adding a sophisticated and earthy flavor profile. Our host wants to balance this out with something bright and fresh, so she adds a generous amount of spinach, wilting it slightly to bring out its natural flavor. Now that her herbs are ready, she minces some chives for their oniony flavor, adds a bit of chopped tarragon for its sweetness, and finishes off the mixture with some parsley.
With all her ingredients prepared, our host is now ready to start making her omelette. She begins by whisking together three whole eggs with a fork, taking care not to over-whip them, as this would result in a dense and rubbery omelette. The addition of a teaspoon of warm water adds moisture and tenderness to the eggs. With the pan still hot from cooking the mushrooms, she carefully pours in the eggs, allowing them to cook for just long enough to create a creamy middle.
As the eggs continue to cook, our host stirs them gently, ensuring that they're evenly distributed throughout the pan. The mixture is left undisturbed for a moment, allowing it to set and develop its texture. Now, with the herbs ready to add their final touch, she carefully folds in the chives, tarragon, and parsley, creating a vibrant green filling. The spinach and mushrooms are added on top of the omelette, creating a beautiful and balanced composition.
The omelette is now almost complete, but our host wants to add a bit more personality to it. She sprinkles a couple of drops of hot sauce over the top, followed by some Worcestershire sauce for its savory undertones, and finally adds a touch of salt to bring out all the flavors. With her omelette finished, she carefully unmolds it onto a plate, ready to be devoured.
As our host takes her first bite, she can't help but smile with satisfaction. The toast, perfectly toasted and slathered in that delicious homemade butter, provides a rich and creamy contrast to the light and fluffy omelette. With each bite, the flavors of the mushrooms, spinach, and herbs meld together in perfect harmony, creating a truly unforgettable dining experience.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: ena simple omelette with some vegetables vegetables brunch absolutely how about some nice earthy white button mushrooms i like to cook these in a cast iron skillet that i get hot and i add just a splash of olive oil two tablespoons and here i've got a pound of white button mushrooms that have just been rinsed so add them in these mushrooms are really loaded with water so you need to be a little hefty with the salt some cracked black pepper now for some aromatics just a couple pieces of fresh thyme i love the little sizzling sound that makes and a few cloves of garlic for a pound of mushrooms about four cloves and i'll just give them a light tap and then give all this a nice stir to get it cooking together okay i want to make some toast because i really want to make something that's going to showcase that homemade butter we made i'm a big fan of the sourdough tangy coffee cake little tang in my bread that's just my personal favorite and i like my toast thick because i really want it to stand up to that butter and that's never going to fit in a toaster so i'll just do it in the oven now white mushrooms to give them a little extra depth of flavor i like to add dry marsala now i'm adding a fortified wine to a hot pan on the stove so i'll pull it off the heat i'll add about a quarter cup and pop that right back on the heat and before i do anything else i'll let that marsala cook down a little bit i want to add something just a little bit bright and light and fresh by adding a nice amount of just spinach so just pick out that thyme and those garlic cloves because it's done its job and then add the spinach i want to cook the spinach oh so slightly and for that i can shut the heat off because i think i have enough heat and momentum in this pan to wilt the spinach i want to get together my herbs for my omelet so i'll start by mincing some chives that gives that fresh oniony flavor that we so love tarragon it's a little chopped parsley and then i really have my trifecta of flavors you get that oniony chive that sweet tarragon and then that freshly mowed lawn smell of the parsley that combination to me is perfect with eggs in an omelette for one omelet i take three whole eggs and give that a little whisk with a fork no need to over whip save your energy for eating to get a light and fluffy omelette the best thing to add is actually a splash of water give it a whisk so i have my mushrooms in the pan they're all cooked down that spinach is just wilting on top of it they really sync up that marsala really brings them to life now we're ready the perfect omelette and so easy to make this is just three eggs with that teaspoon that little splash of warm water now do that for a little personality couple drops of hot sauce a couple drops of worcestershire for a little salty underhint and then a touch of salt so we start with a hot nonstick pan and just put a touch of butter in there just take the plunge pour those eggs right in give it a little stir and that'll give you a nice middle then swirl the liquid all through and let this cook you're not moving you're not doing anything else the world stops because you're making an omelette and now for the herbs chives a little bit of tarragon for that little sweetness finish up with the parsley fold the first side in towards you just roll up hiding all those vibrant herbs underneath it unmold it right on there line up some of those spinach and mushrooms just kind of park them right next to the omelet slice a toast and then really that real reminder that we just made everything from scratch that homemade butter with the sea salt and the cracked black pepper on top hear that sound that's the sound of brunch wow i have to take a bite this is just toast times ten now for the omelet wow it just has such a clean herby flavora simple omelette with some vegetables vegetables brunch absolutely how about some nice earthy white button mushrooms i like to cook these in a cast iron skillet that i get hot and i add just a splash of olive oil two tablespoons and here i've got a pound of white button mushrooms that have just been rinsed so add them in these mushrooms are really loaded with water so you need to be a little hefty with the salt some cracked black pepper now for some aromatics just a couple pieces of fresh thyme i love the little sizzling sound that makes and a few cloves of garlic for a pound of mushrooms about four cloves and i'll just give them a light tap and then give all this a nice stir to get it cooking together okay i want to make some toast because i really want to make something that's going to showcase that homemade butter we made i'm a big fan of the sourdough tangy coffee cake little tang in my bread that's just my personal favorite and i like my toast thick because i really want it to stand up to that butter and that's never going to fit in a toaster so i'll just do it in the oven now white mushrooms to give them a little extra depth of flavor i like to add dry marsala now i'm adding a fortified wine to a hot pan on the stove so i'll pull it off the heat i'll add about a quarter cup and pop that right back on the heat and before i do anything else i'll let that marsala cook down a little bit i want to add something just a little bit bright and light and fresh by adding a nice amount of just spinach so just pick out that thyme and those garlic cloves because it's done its job and then add the spinach i want to cook the spinach oh so slightly and for that i can shut the heat off because i think i have enough heat and momentum in this pan to wilt the spinach i want to get together my herbs for my omelet so i'll start by mincing some chives that gives that fresh oniony flavor that we so love tarragon it's a little chopped parsley and then i really have my trifecta of flavors you get that oniony chive that sweet tarragon and then that freshly mowed lawn smell of the parsley that combination to me is perfect with eggs in an omelette for one omelet i take three whole eggs and give that a little whisk with a fork no need to over whip save your energy for eating to get a light and fluffy omelette the best thing to add is actually a splash of water give it a whisk so i have my mushrooms in the pan they're all cooked down that spinach is just wilting on top of it they really sync up that marsala really brings them to life now we're ready the perfect omelette and so easy to make this is just three eggs with that teaspoon that little splash of warm water now do that for a little personality couple drops of hot sauce a couple drops of worcestershire for a little salty underhint and then a touch of salt so we start with a hot nonstick pan and just put a touch of butter in there just take the plunge pour those eggs right in give it a little stir and that'll give you a nice middle then swirl the liquid all through and let this cook you're not moving you're not doing anything else the world stops because you're making an omelette and now for the herbs chives a little bit of tarragon for that little sweetness finish up with the parsley fold the first side in towards you just roll up hiding all those vibrant herbs underneath it unmold it right on there line up some of those spinach and mushrooms just kind of park them right next to the omelet slice a toast and then really that real reminder that we just made everything from scratch that homemade butter with the sea salt and the cracked black pepper on top hear that sound that's the sound of brunch wow i have to take a bite this is just toast times ten now for the omelet wow it just has such a clean herby flavor\n"