Weekend Omelette with Mornay Sauce (Claridge's Inspired)

I recently found an exquisite Claridge's cookbook at Companion Books in North Burnaby.  I loved the documentary on this magnificent, historical, iconic hotel in London England, so if you ever get the chance, I hope you watch it! 

Here's a recipe for their Omelette Arnold Bennett.  It's luxurious and delicious!!  I replaced a couple of ingredients such as the smoked haddock because I didn't have it here at home, but other than a few adjustments, I stayed pretty true to the recipe.  Enjoy!

Mornay Sauce:  1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup cream, 1 onion, peeled and quartered, 1 bay leaf, 2 cloves (I accidentally added garlic cloves!  Still good), 1 oz salted butter, 1 oz. flour, 3 1/2 oz. mature Cheddar cheese, grated, 1 tsp. English mustard (I used Dijon), 1 egg yolk.

Add milk, cream, onion, bay leaf and cloves (which ever one you decide) to a small pot and simmer for about 10 minutes so flavors infuse into the milk/cream mixture.

Take the onion and bay leaf and cloves from milk/cream mixture.  In another pan, melt the butter, then make a roux adding the flour and stir.  Then add the strained milk/cream and continuing whisking until it gets thicker.  Add the cheese, then add mustard, and continue to stir.  Finally add the yolk, continuing to whisk.  All done! Set aside.

Omelette

Whisk eggs together in a bowl.  I used 8 but use as many or as little as you like.  Set aside.

Melt a couple of tbsp. butter into a cast iron pan over medium heat.  Once melted add eggs.  Allow to set for about 2-3 minutes over heat.  Gently glide a spatula over omelette and tip pan to fill in gaps to create luscious folds.  Allow for the top of omelette to remain a little wet.

Take pan off of the stove and top the omelette with mornay sauce (about 1/2 cup) and spread it over the omelette with spatula or knife.  You won't use all of the mornay sauce so can put remaining in a Tupperware for a few days.  

You can see in this picture the omelette is sightly wet.

Put Mornay Sauce over Omelette and Under the Broiler

Now get the oven super-hot, and put the cast iron pan and omelette under the broiler until the mornay sauce is nicely browned.  I topped my omelette with Argentine shrimp. Absolutely delicious!

P.S.  In the Claridge's Cookbook, they stir some mornay sauce into the haddock before stuffing the omelette.  They then fold the omelette in half as you do with omelettes, topping with more mornay sauce before it goes under the broiler.  I'm not good at flipping a large omelette so kept it like a frittata. 

This is a picture of the mornay toasty.

Enjoy!!!