ARNOLD BENNET – smoked fish omelette

This is one of those dishes which reminds me of Britain and one that we can easily do here with freshly smoked fish from The Boat Shed and fresh free-range eggs

Serves 4 – simply halve recipe to make omelette for 2 or 1 greedy person!

200g natural, smoked white fleshed fish, skinned and boned

1 large shallot, or ½ small onion peeled and finely chopped

150ml cream

Good knob of butter

8 large free range or organic eggs, beaten, plus 1 extra egg yolk

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Put the fish in a pan with the shallots/onion and just cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer, covered with a lid, for 2 minutes. Remove the fish with a slotted spoon and drain on some kitchen paper. Continue to simmer the cooking liquid until it has almost completely reduced, then add the cream, bring back to the boil and continue to simmer until it has reduced by two-thirds and has thickened. Remove from the heat and leave to cool a little. Flake the flesh into the sauce, add the egg yolk and parsley, stir well and season with salt and freshly ground white pepper. Preheat the grill to its maximum temperature. Heat a little butter over a low heat in a large 25cm non-stick fry pan or a favourite frying pan that doesn’t stick. Season the beaten eggs and pour over the egg mix into the pan, or enough to fill two-thirds of the pan. Over a low heat, stir the eggs with a wooden spoon or plastic spatula, until the mixture begins to set but the eggs are still soft. Stop stirring.

Spoon the haddock mixture over the omelette, spreading it evenly with the back of the spoon until covered. Put it under the grill for a minute or two until evenly browned.

Serve immediately with a simple fresh green salad.