Omelette Arnold Bennett
Recipe
Serves four
600ml (1 pint) milk
2 cloves
2 bay leaves
A few parsley stalks
1 medium onion, chopped
400g (14oz) smoked haddock
8 eggs plus 4 yolks
75g (2¾oz) butter
25g (1oz) flour
200g (7oz) parmesan, grated
4 tsp chopped flat leaf parsley
- Heat the milk with the cloves bay leaves, parsley stalks and the chopped onion in a pan. Bring it up to the boil then remove from the heat and leave it alone for 25 minutes to infuse.
- Turn the heat back on and bring the milk back to a gently simmer and carefully place the smoked haddock into it. Again turn the heat off and let the fish cook in the milk as the milk cools.
- Whisk the 8 whole eggs. Once the fish is cool enough to handle remove it from the milk and flake it into a bowl, strain the milk into a sauce pan and warm slowly.
- In a separate pan melt the butter a third of the butter, stir in the flour and cook on for a few minutes, the flour needs to ‘cook out’ and release its starch and make your sauce smooth.
- Gently pour in the warm milk and whisk quickly. Keep over a low heat for about 5 minutes until the sauce is thick and smooth. Remove from the heat.
- Divide the remaining butter between 4 blini pans or one large skillet depending on how you wish to serve it. Add the eggs and cook them in the butter until they are just cooked at the bottom but liquid on top.
- Add the flaked smoked haddock and sprinkle with the cheese. Now add the four egg yolks to the béchamel sauce and combine then pour over the fish in the pan or pans.
- Place them under a hot grill and let the eggs finish cooking and the top glaze.
- Serve them in the blini pans or cut slices from the one pan and sprinkle with the parsley.
The Food Group 