Not Omelette Arnold Bennett

 

I had come across Omelette Arnold Bennett, created at The Savoy Grill in London for the the Edwardian novelist Arnold Bennett, who was a frequent guest and asked for an open-faced omelette with smoked haddock and cheese around 1900, leading to a classic dish that remains popular today. 

The original dish features smoked haddock poached in milk, flaked and folded into a fluffy omelette with a rich sauce and cheese.

I had to make quite a few changes. The original Omelette Arnold Bennett recipe contains cheese, but since I don’t eat cheese, I omitted the cheese. Some recipes call for béchamel sauce, and some call for hollandaise sauce; I did a modified béchamel sauce. I also did not glaze the omelette under a grill, so I cannot honestly call this Omelette Arnold Bennett, but I think it turned out quite well.

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
• 7 oz smoked haddock
• 1 tblsp cornstarch
• 4 eggs
• 1 tblsp butter
• black pepper to taste

1. Heat the heavy cream and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan with the bay leaf, shallot, and peppercorns until just simmering. Add the haddock and simmer covered for two minutes. Turn off the heat and let the haddock poach for 5 minutes.
2. Remove the haddock from the liquid and set aside. Strain the poaching liquid to remove the spices.
3. Scrape off the skin from the haddock and break the haddock into large flakes.
4. Mix cornstarch and 1/4 cup water to make a slurry.
5. Beat the eggs in a bowl. 
6. Heat butter in a skillet over high heat. When the butter is foaming, add the beaten eggs. Cook over medium heat, stirring once or twice, until the omelette is set on the bottom but wet in the middle.
7. Scatter the haddock on top of the omelette. Cook over medium low heat until the omelette is set.
8. Make sure the omelette is loose from the skillet. Slide the omelette onto a dinner plate. 
9. Return the poaching liquid to the saucepan. Bring to a simmer and stir in the slurry. Cook until the sauce is thick and smooth. 
10. Spoon the sauce over the omelette. Season with black pepper.