French Provincial Cooking - Elizabeth David [112]
‘ANNETTE POULARD.’
Madame Poulard died in 1931, at the age of 80, but she and her husband had retired from the hotel many years before. Her menu, which before the 1914 war cost 2.50 fr., including cider, and butter on the table, was always the same. It consisted of the famous omelette, ham, a fried sole, pré-salé lamb cutlets with potatoes, a roast chicken and salad, and dessert.
Now, over fifty years later, there are, I believe, two restaurants at the Mont St. Michel which both claim to be the successors of the original Mère Poulard, and who are still making fortunes out of serving their customers with the one and only true ‘omelette Poulard.’ But what of the rest of the menu?
OMELETTE FINES HERBES
Prepare 1 tablespoon of mixed finely chopped parsley, tarragon, chives and, if possible, chervil. Mix half of this, with salt and pepper, in the bowl with the eggs, and the other half when the eggs are in the pan. If you like, put a little knob of butter on top of the omelette as it is brought to the table.
OMELETTE À LA TOMATE
TOMATO OMELETTE
One tomato, skinned and chopped small, cooked hardly more than a minute in butter, with salt and pepper, is added to the eggs already in the pan.
OMELETTE AU LARD
BACON OMELETTE
Add a tablespoon of finely chopped bacon softened a minute or so in its own fat, to the eggs already in the pan; take care not to salt the eggs too much.
OMELETTE AU JAMBON
HAM OMELETTE
Add a heaped tablespoon of cooked ham, finely chopped and mixed with a little parsley, but not previously heated at all, to the eggs already in the pan. Again, take into account the saltiness of the ham when seasoning the eggs. A little extra butter melting on top of the omelette is a good addition, for there is none with the filling.
OMELETTE AUX CHAMPIGNONS
MUSHROOM OMELETTE
Not very complicated, you might think, but how often does one get a really good mushroom omelette? The answer is that the mushrooms should be in the form of a creamy little sauce, very well seasoned. A quarter of a pound of small white mushrooms or mushroom stalks is enough for two 3-egg omelettes. Chop the cleaned mushrooms very finely, melt them in butter in a small pan, season with salt, pepper, nutmeg or mace, stir in just a pinch of flour, then 2 tablespoons of cream. The mixture, very hot, is added to the omelette when it is already in the pan.
OMELETTE MOLIÈRE
CHEESE OMELETTE
This delicious omelette is called after a little restaurant in Avignon where I used often to eat very cheap and simple meals. This was one of my favourite dishes there.
Beat 1 tablespoon of finely grated Parmesan with 3 eggs. When the omelette is in the pan, add 1 tablespoon of very fresh Gruyère cheese cut into minuscule dice, and 1 tablespoon of thick fresh cream. In a few seconds the Gruyère starts to melt and your omelette is ready. Fold it over, serve and eat it without delay.
OMELETTE BASQUAISE
(1) A tablespoon or so of Pipérade mixture (see page 198) added to a 3-egg omelette when the eggs are in the pan. Serve folded over in the ordinary way.
(2) A mixture of finely chopped shallot, garlic, raw ham or gammon, and sweet pepper with a few cubes of spiced sausage, gently cooked in butter or olive oil, added to the eggs already in the pan; oil instead of butter is used for cooking this omelette, which is made rather thick and served flat.
OMELETTE LANDAISE
OMELETTE WITH PINE-NUTS
Three or four tablespoons of pine-nuts are very gently heated in butter in the omelette pan until they just barely begin to turn colour. Take care, because they burn in a twinkling, and they have to go on cooking after the eggs, beaten with salt and pepper, are poured into the pan and the omelette made in the usual way. This is a rather odd dish, but not without charm.
There are great stretches of pine-woods in the Landes country, and to extract the nuts the cones are warmed in the oven or near the fire, and when they open the little kernels are shaken out. Sometimes sugar instead of salt is