Cheese Souflée Omlet

I am still cooking for my Dad. He really liked this one. It is, again, a dish for two people, with twice the amounts it will make a meal for four, ideally served with a big mixed spring salad. 

 

What you need

• 2 egg yolks whisked with
• 1 tblsp dry sherry
• 1 tblsp sweet soy sauce
• 1 heaped tblsp Italian herbs
• 1 tblsp mustard or1 tsp mustard powder
• grated nutmeg, paprika, salt and pepper to taste
• 2 egg whites whisked with a pinch of salt
• 1.5 dl cream whipped
• 1 small tomme ripe soft cheese (Reblochon, Brie, Camambert, Vacherin Mont d’Or, Gorgonzola dolce), cut into slices of about 5 mm thickness.
• Butter for frying the omelette

What you do

1. Separate the eggs and whisk the egg yolks vigorously with all the ingredients (sherry, soy sauce, herbs and spices. The mixture should be quite frothy.
2. Whisk the egg whites with the pinch of salt until it forms peaks.
3. Whip it until the whisk leaves a trace in the cream.
4. Fold the cream and the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, making sure that the mixture remains fluffy and light.
5. Melt the butter in a non-stick frying pan. Very gently pour the egg/cream mixture into the melted butter and fry over medium heat.
6. Put in the slices of cheese ensuring that they are evenly spaced.
7. Reduce the heat a little to prevent burning and fry until the top of the soufflé omlet starts solidifying. Season with more paprika, pepper and nutmeg if you feel it is necessary.
8. To ensure that the top is done too, put under the grill for 1, maximum 2 minutes (too long and the soufflé effect will be ruined; the taste is still fine but the fluffiness is gone…)
9. Serve immediately from the frying pan; waiting will deflate the dish.

Remarks

When doing this dish, don’t overdo the salt as the tomme, if it is ripe enough, will actually add plenty of flavour.

How to ripen a tomme? Simple: keep it at cellar temperature for a week, at room temperature for a couple of days. When it feels soft and squashable, it is likely to be perfect.

Cutting it at this stage may be a problem. A cheese knife with holes in it (see picture above) works just fine.