Omelette de la Mere Poulard

By John, 26 February, 2022
Region
France
Description

"Fluffy Omelet"This has been called the most expensive omelette in the world, which it may be at 35 Euros if you get it at its birthplace in the shadow of the imposing Mont St-Michel on a little island off Normandy. There's some lore about it that seems to be more a matter of effective marketing than of actual tradition.

So what is it? It's a very fluffy omelet with nothing else. Much has been written about how to achieve the proper fluffiness, but the official recipe is a secret of that restaurant and the various attempts that you see online cover a wide range of efforts. 

From what I can pull together from the history, a brief description by Mere Annette Poulard herself, the many articles about it, and my own attempts, I think I have something that is very close to what she would have served in her little kitchen in 19th century Normandy.

Yield
2 Servings
Preparation time
10 minutes
Cooking time
5 minutes
Total time
15 minutes
Ingredients
4 Eggs (at room temperature)
1 T Butter
Instructions
  1. (Optional, for Step 5) Preheat oven to 375.
  2. Whip the eggs in a mixer at top speed until they triple in volume, become a paler yellow, and the beater leaves a trail when lifted. You can do this by hand, as Mere Poulard did, but the mixer does the same thing in 10 minutes or so if the eggs are at room temperature.
  3. Melt the butter in an 11-inch omelet pan and when the foam subsides, brush it all around to coat the bottom and sides. (Four eggs fully whipped will fill an 11-inch pan.)
  4. Put the whipped eggs into the hot pan until it is full (you may have too much). Cook over moderate heat until it sets pretty well all around. You should be able to push it gently with a spatula and the air bubbles will pop. This takes about 5 minutes.
  5. (Optional, if you don't like the runny middle) Put the pan in the hot oven long enough for the top to set, about 2 minutes.
  6. Slide out onto a plate and serve immediately. Like a souffle, it will deflate within a few minutes.
Notes

The eggs whip best when they are at room temperature. I leave them out on the counter overnight.

Some people add cream or creme fraiche, some whip the whites separately and then fold them in, but there's no evidence for this from the little that Mere Poulard wrote. Maybe she did - the recipe is still a secret.

Most recipes cook this like a traditional omelette, entirely on the stovetop. Naturally the top remains somewhat underdone; some claim to like it that way and see it as a virtue, but my wife doesn't like it that soft so I added that finishing step in the oven for her. You can see from photo 24 in the website gallery that they have plenty of heat available!