About a month ago, if you had asked me whether a French omelette would ever find a place in my breakfast rotation, I would have said, “Heck no.”
I love trying new recipes, but French omelettes have always sounded difficult and a little too technical for me, especially since I’m always bleary-eyed in the morning.
Then, I stumbled upon Julia Child’s tutorial video. She said that, when done correctly, her French omelette recipe takes under 30 seconds to prepare. Needless to say, I was intrigued.
After giving her recipe a try, I can confirm: French omelettes are surprisingly easy to make. Now, they’re one of my favorite versatile breakfast staples.
First, I made sure I had a few simple ingredients.
To make a French omelette, all you need are two or three eggs, butter, salt and pepper, and fresh herbs of your choice.
I went with basil and chives for my first attempt, but a variety of combinations should work. Child suggests tarragon and chervil, and since falling in love with her recipe, I’ve also tried parsley, which adds a nice bitter bite.
Although Child recommends about a tablespoon of fresh herbs, I love a burst of herby flavor in my eggs, so I decided to add more.
I chopped the herbs and put a non-stick pan on medium heat.
A non-stick pan is ideal because it makes the omelette easier to shape and fold.
I put my pan on the stovetop, and then chopped up the herbs as I waited for it to heat up.
After that, I cracked three eggs into a mixing bowl and added salt, pepper, and my chopped herbs. I gave them a good mix with a fork — Child recommends about 30 strokes.
Once my egg mixture was prepped, it was time to grease the pan.
At this point, the pan was ready to be greased. I added a tablespoon of butter and waited to add the eggs.
Child’s trick for knowing when to put the eggs in is to watch how the butter bubbles up. Wait until the butter foams, then subsides; that’s when it’s time to add the eggs. Be careful not to let the butter brown.
Then, it was time to make the omelette.
Next came the fun — and technical — part.
I added the egg mixture to the pan, then shook the pan quickly back and forth while simultaneously stirring the eggs rapidly with the fork. This allowed the eggs to curdle and become creamy, but also helped the mixture not stick to the pan.
I did this for about 10 seconds, and Child was right: It came together surprisingly fast.
Once the outer edges formed and the mixture in the middle curdled, I started to gently fold and form my omelette. I tucked the ends into the omelette to make them look even fluffier.
As soon as the omelette was nearly formed with just one more fold left, I took the pan to the edge of my plate and carefully rolled the omelette onto it. I used the fork to help maintain its shape and fold it once more.
This technique was quick and easy, and my omelette felt much fancier to eat than it did to make.
My first French omelette tasted like something I’d ordered via room service at a luxury hotel, not a dish that came together in under five minutes.
The flavors were delicious: I loved basil’s freshness coupled with the chives’ garlicky taste, all wrapped up in a fluffy egg. The great thing about this recipe, too, is knowing I can always try out different combinations of flavors and fillings.
I learned from Child that the French actually eat these omelettes for lunch or as a light dinner. Although I personally love having them for breakfast, I’ll have to try a lunch omelette next — maybe with a filling like bacon, tomatoes, or cheese.
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