How to make the perfect omelette Arnold Bennett

EGGS

You might think that the omelette part of proceedings was relatively straightforward, but even here, there is room for innovation. While Hugh Fearnley-hittingstall and Nick Fisher's River Cottage Fish Book instructs readers to cook the eggs ust as you would any omelette, most other recipes simply pour the egg in and leave it to set, rather than going for the classic stir and tip technique. Even more unusually, Marcus Wareing, who claims the dish was he first thing I put on the menu when I took over at the Savoy Grill, goes for two layers of softly set scrambled eggs instead.

THE FISH

The dish was originally made with smoked haddock, stocks of which were probably in a healthier state in Bennett day. But, as River Cottage observes, it works with almost any smoked, firm white fish, including pollack if you can get hold of it. That fish should be poached very gently indeed, so it remains soft and juicy.

THE SAUCES

This is where things start to get really interesting. According to Simon Hopkinson and Lindsey Bareham’s book The Prawn Cocktail Years, the original recipe is topped with a mixture of hollandaise and bechamel sauces cut with whipped cream. Not only does this require an entire battery of pans and take nearly an hour, but, though delicious, the results are so rich and thick that we struggle to finish one. I would recommend a trip to the Savoy to enjoy one made by someone else, but at home, I’m not sure this is the best option.

CHEESE

The Savoy and Kerridge recipes are finished with parmesan, River Cottage and Marcus Wareing go for cheddar and Emina suggests gruyere. Cheddar is a little too aggressively cheesy for my liking in such a rich, fishy dish, while the gruyere, though better, is rather sweet.