Smoked Haddock Omelette

This great tasting (and very popular) Smoked Haddock Omelette Recipe comes served with two classic sauces, a béchamel and hollandaise. The only thing you have to worry about with this dish is having enough little saucepans to make both sauces and that you get your timings right when you want to bring everything together. Having made it you will realise that all the fiddly little sauce stages and extra washing up to do is well worth the finished dish – it really is a recipe to impress. This is right up there with one of the best omelettes you can make, served in some of the best restaurants and gastro pubs in the South-East of England.

Béchamel Sauce: also known as white sauce, is one of the main sauces of French cuisine which has travelled the world and is now used in many classic recipes, for example in lasagne.

Hollandaise Sauce: It is so named because it was believed to have mimicked a Dutch sauce for the state visit to France of the King of the Netherlands. Hollandaise sauce goes fantastically well with egg dishes and is well known as a key ingredient of Eggs Benedict.

Smoked Haddock Omelette Recipe

Serves 4: this is a great starter served on its own, but served with fresh breads and a seasonal salad (with dressing) it can easily become a main meal.

Recipe Ingredients:

For the omelette filling

• 500g smoked haddock fillet
• 10 eggs
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 50g butter
• 200g parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 4 egg yolks

For the Bechamel Sauce

• 600ml milk
• 2 whole cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• handful of fresh parsley (including stalks)
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 30g butter
• 30g plain flour

For The Hollandaise Sauce

• 100ml white wine
• 200ml white wine vinegar
• 4 black peppercorns
• handful of fresh tarragon (including stalks)
• 3 shallots, finely chopped
• 2 egg yolks
• 250g butter – melted

Recipe Method:

Start the bechamel: Put the milk, cloves, bay leaves, parsley and onion into a saucepan and bring it up to the boil, simmer for two minutes, then turn off the heat. Leave to infuse for 30 minutes

Start the hollandaise: Put the white wine, white wine vinegar, black peppercorns, tarrogaon and finely chopped shallots into a saucepan. Bring this up to the boil and then turn the heat down to simmer to reduce the liquid right down to one-third. Once reduced leave to cool.

Intermediate stages:

Put the beginnings of the bechamel sauce back on to a medium heat after it has had 30 minutes to infuse. Once the milk is at a simmer place the smoked haddock fillets into the milk, and heat through for one minute. After a minute turn the heat off, put the lid on the saucepan, and let the fish fillets cook through in the milk as it cools. Once cooked through and cooled remove the haddock from the milk (bechamel starter) and flake the fish into a bowl and reserve for later.

Finish the bechamel: Pour the infused milk (bechamel starter) through a sieve into a small saucepan to remove the herbs, spices and onion. Heat this cleared milk to simmer. In another small saucepan melt the 30g of butter and stir in the 30g of flour. Stir and cook the flour out until the mixture becomes straw coloured and makes a ‘roux’, (approx 4 minutes) – take the pan off the heat and slowly stir in the infused milk, combining with the roux so that there are no lumps. Put the pan back on to a high heat and stir continuously to thicken the bechamel sauce. Once thickened remove from the heat and reserve.

Finish the hollandaise: In a small pan melt the butter and reserve for later. In another, larger saucepan, add a few inches of water and put it on to a medium heat. Over the saucepan place a heat-proof mixing bowl so that it sits comfortably in the saucepan but above the water, so it is heated only by the steam. Beat in the 2 egg yolks then whisk in the shallot and white wine reduction. Into this slowly pour the melted butter, a little at a time. Add more melted butter when the previous amount has been well incorporated and the mixture has thickened. Once thickened remove from the heat and reserve.

Make The Omelette:

Preheat the oven grill. And warm 4 serving plates.

In a mixing bowl beat together the 10 eggs and season with the salt and pepper.

In another mixing bowl beat in the 4 egg yolks and mix in equal amounts of bechamel sauce and hollandaise sauce, 8 tablespoons each. Mix this combined sauce together.

Note: We need to make 4 omelettes and keep them warm until all 4 are made and can be served together at the same time – so we need to work quickly and carefully.

In a small frying pan melt a knob of butter and pour in a quarter of the seasoned beaten egg mixture. Cook the omelette to about two-thirds of the way through, keep the center quite runny.

Once at this stage spoon over the omelette a quarter of the flaked smoked haddock and sprinkle over a quarter of the freshly grated parmesan cheese. Spoon over the haddock and parmesan cheese a good tablespoon or two of the combined egg yolk, bechamel and hollandaise sauce. Leave the omelette open faced (without folding in half) and place onto a warmed serving plate. Repeat this to make the other three omelettes.

At stages (while making the other omelettes) glaze each of the previous omelettes under the preheated grill until they are golden and bubbling (do not let them burn). When all 4 are done serve the Smoked Haddock Omellete straight away.