Omelet with Fried Sage and Gruyre
Source of Recipe
From "Old-School Comfort Food" by Alex Guarnaschelli
Recipe Introduction
"There is a wonderful place in Los Angeles called Joan's on Third where they make exceptional omelets. Joan's secret is to add a splash of water to the eggs (instead of milk or cream) to make the omelet light and fluffy. The crispy sage and cheese inside make my favorite combination in an omelet. Gruyre has the perfect amount of barnyard taste, great tang, and good melt flavor. Don't give yourself a hard time trying to make a perfectly shaped omelet: If the eggs don't seem to be cooperating, turn them into scrambled eggs with a simple quick stir. It'll be our eggy secret."
List of Ingredients
◦ 1 tablespoon canola oil
◦ 8 to 10 fresh sage leaves, to taste
◦ Kosher salt
◦ 3 large eggs
◦ 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
◦ cup grated Gruyre
Recipe
Heat a 6-inch nonstick skillet over high heat and add the oil. Have a try lined with paper towels and a slotted spoon ready. When the oil begins to look thinner and spreads to the sides of the pan, shut off the heat and add the sage leaves. Stir them to coat with the oil and cook, stirring constantly, until the sage pales slightly in color and gets slightly crisp, 45 seconds to 1 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the leaves to the paper towels. Season them immediately with salt and allow them to cool. Reserve the skillet.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, 1 teaspoon water, and teaspoon salt. Whisk only enough to integrate the eggs; you don't want to whip too much air into them or make them frothy.
Remove excess oil from the skillet and return it to medium heat. Add the butter. Swirl the butter around as it melts so it coats the whole surface of the pan. When the butter is melted (but not browned), lower the heat and pour in the egg mixture. Use a fork to stir the eggs slightly, as if you were scrambling them. Then, allow the eggs to cook, undisturbed, until the egg starts to set in the middle and the very edges start to brown slightly, 15 to 30 seconds. Sprinkle the cheese and sage leaves over them. Cook until all the eggs look almost fully cooked and only slightly loose, 1 to 2 minutes. I personally like an omelet that is slightly loose in the center and not so browned on the exterior.
Lift the handle of the pan up, tilting the pan away from you and toward the heat. This tilting should cause the omelet to slide down in the pan a little. Using a heatproof spatula, fold the edge closest to you toward the center. Fold the other edge in toward the center and invert the pan over the center of a plate so that the omelet lands seam side down. Serve immediately.
Serves 1
❧ Old-School Tip:
I love fresh herbs (and almost always prefer them to their dried counterparts, dried oregano being my one exception to this rule). Lots of fresh herbslike thyme, tarragon, and basilplay nicely in the sandbox with other ingredients. But some of their herb friends need a little mellowing before being let out for recess. Lightly frying sage leaves or rosemary in a little neutral-flavored oil (like canola) tames their piney, somewhat medicinal flavor and instead brings their rich, almost grassy mintiness to the forefront.
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