ArcaMax

Daniel Boulud is one of my favorite chefs on the planet. I celebrated my 40th birthday at his restaurant Daniel in New York City. This is a Plan Z version of his famous omelet.

Servings: Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the Omelet

8 large eggs
1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
2-3 large shallots, minced
1 cup of pencil-thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 cup of red bell pepper pieces, diced
fresh herbs (whatever you like — parsley, basil, tarragon, etc)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the salad

4 cups of arugula Fresh lemon juice (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Spray an eight to ten-inch OVENPROOF skillet lightly with olive oil spray. The skillet needs to be made of cast iron so it can handle the heat of the oven. Put in the minced shallot, red pepper and asparagus pieces. Sauté on medium until the veggies are crisp and tender. This should take about five minutes. Stir often. Add a little bit of salt and pepper and the fresh herbs. While this is sauteing, whisk the eggs and cream together in a bowl until the mixture is smooth.

If using a cast iron skillet:

When the veggies are tender, spray the pan again with more olive oil spray (leaving veggies in there). Add the egg mixture. The eggs will begin to cook on the bottom. Tilt the pan and put your spatula under the eggs mixture to open up a little room so the runny egg can distribute. Once the eggs look half-cooked, turn off the heat. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Put the cast iron pan in the oven and let it cook for three to five minutes until the omelet is baked and a light golden brown.

If you don’t have a cast iron (ovenproof) skillet:

Transfer the veggies into a lightly oiled 9-by-9-inch Pyrex Pan and then pour the egg mixture over the veggies and bake it. This will take longer, approximately 15 minutes. Keep an eye on it since the oven is so hot!

Serving Suggestions:

When the omelet is a light golden brown, remove the pan from the oven and cut it into four sections. Serve each section on a plate with the arugula salad. The salad can be dressed with a bit of lemon juice and grated sea salt and pepper.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola