How do I make a proper French omelette?

This is a technique, not a recipe, and it is genuinely difficult for about the first ten attempts. Everything is decided in under two minutes: an omelette that spends three minutes in a pan has already become a different dish. What you are aiming for is a smooth pale exterior with no browning and a soft, just-set interior.

What you'll need

• A 20cm non-stick pan with sloping sides
• Three eggs
• Butter
• A fork or a flat wooden spatula

Step by step

1. Beat the eggs properly.Until there is no trace of separate white or yolk — thirty to forty strokes with a fork. Streaks in the bowl become streaks in the omelette. Season now, with salt and white pepper. Do not add milk or water; it dilutes the set and makes it weep.
2. Get the pan and the butter right.A 20cm non-stick pan for three eggs. Medium heat, a generous knob of butter. The butter should foam and the foam should subside, but it must not colour — if the butter browns, the pan is too hot and the omelette will brown too.
3. Pour in and start moving immediately.All the egg at once. Then stir vigorously with the flat of a fork, held almost parallel to the pan, while shaking the pan back and forth with the other hand. You are making small curds and keeping them constantly moving so none of them touches the hot surface long enough to colour.
4. Stop while it is still visibly wet.After twenty to thirty seconds the egg should look like loose, small-curd scrambled egg with wet egg still running between the curds. That is the moment to stop stirring.
5. Let the base set for a few seconds.Spread the curds evenly with the back of the fork, smooth the top, and leave it for about ten seconds so the underside forms a thin skin that will hold the roll together.
6. Roll it, do not fold it.Tilt the pan away from you at about 45 degrees. Use the fork to fold the far edge over on itself, then let gravity roll it down the sloping side. Two folds, sometimes three. It should end up as a cigar in the lip of the pan.
7. Turn it out seam-side down.Hold the plate in your other hand, invert the pan over it, and let the omelette drop out with the seam underneath. Neaten the shape with a clean tea towel over the top, and brush with a little butter for shine.
8. Eat it immediately.The interior is baveuse — soft and slightly runny — and it carries on setting on the plate. Thirty seconds of waiting is enough to lose it.

Tips

• Practise with two eggs before three. Less egg is easier to move and cheaper to get wrong.
• If the omelette starts to colour, take the pan off the heat entirely for a few seconds and keep stirring. Heat control by lifting the pan is faster than the hob dial.
• Fillings go in as the stirring stops, in a line down the middle, and should be small in quantity and already warm. A French omelette is not a vehicle for a lot of filling.
• Fines herbes — chervil, chives, tarragon, parsley — go into the beaten egg rather than the middle.
• Reserve one non-stick pan for eggs and do not put anything metal in it. A scratched pan makes this technique impossible.

Common mistakes

• Cooking it too hot — Browning is the defining fault. A French omelette should be pale yellow all over. High heat also sets the outside before the inside is anywhere near ready.
• Adding milk or water to the eggs — It dilutes the protein, weakens the set and leaves liquid in the pan. Eggs, salt, butter — nothing else.
• Cooking it until it looks done in the pan — It carries on cooking during the roll and on the plate. Stop while it is still visibly wet or you will serve a dry omelette.
• Overfilling it — A heavy filling stops the roll working and splits the omelette. A tablespoon of cheese or herbs is the scale.

Questions people ask