Inside this Hairy Bikers smoked haddock omelette, flaked fish sits in a creamy chive sauce, with reduced-fat Cheddar melting inside the fold. And the Eat to Beat recipe serves 2 to 3, takes me about 30 minutes, and comes to 428 calories a serving for 2.
The Savoy Hotel created the original for the novelist Arnold Bennett, and Si and Dave admit theirs is “much less calorific than the original”. So semi-skimmed milk, cornflour and reduced-fat crème fraîche make the sauce, though they still call it “very good to eat”.
The haddock only reaches the boil, then the covered pan sits off the heat for 10 minutes while the fish cooks through. And in my experience it comes out in soft chunks rather than shreds, which is how I like it folded through the sauce.
Hairy Bikers Smoked Haddock Omelette
Description
Haddock steeps in hot milk, then 150ml of that milk thickens with cornflour and crème fraîche into a chive sauce for the flaked fish. Then beaten eggs set in a lightly sprayed pan, the fish goes over one half with Cheddar, and the other half folds on top.
Ingredients
For the filling
For the omelette
Instructions
- Poach the haddock: Put the haddock in a wide pan and pour in the milk to cover. Bring it to the boil, cover, then turn off the heat and leave it to stand for 10 minutes.
- Flake the fish: Strain the milk into a jug, then break the fish into chunks once it’s cool enough to handle. Discard the skin and any stray bones.
- Make the sauce: Mix the cornflour and water to a smooth paste, then put 150ml of the cooking milk and the crème fraîche in a small pan. Stir in the paste over a gentle heat until thick, then season with pepper and fold in the haddock and chives.
- Cook the eggs: Heat a large frying pan, spray it lightly with oil and pour in the beaten eggs, making sure they cover the base evenly. Cook until the omelette is almost set.
- Fill and fold: Pile the haddock mixture over one half of the omelette and sprinkle the cheese on top. Then flip the other half over and cook for a couple of minutes until the cheese melts. Cut it in half or into thirds and serve at once.
FAQs
What’s in their full omelette Arnold Bennett?
Chicken & Egg has the version they call “the full monty”, where whole milk is infused with onion, mace, bay and peppercorns for 30 minutes. Then the sauce is a butter and flour roux loosened with the poaching milk and 100ml of double cream, with Gruyère melted over the top.
It also takes more fish, 250g for two, and the eggs cook in 10g of butter rather than oil spray. Plus they add a line I like: “Lucky old Arnold, we say.”
Can you make it with smoked mackerel?
Their Chicken & Egg version asks for smoked haddock or other smoked fish, so I’d count mackerel in. But hot-smoked mackerel is already cooked, so I’d skip the poaching and just warm the flakes through in the sauce.
Otherwise undyed haddock is the one they prefer here, as they do in their Everyday Winners smoked haddock risotto.
What do you do with the leftover poaching milk?
Only 150ml of the 250ml goes into the sauce, so you’re left with about 100ml of smoky milk. And I’d save it for a fish soup like their One Pot Wonders smoked haddock chowder, which uses 750ml of milk and no stock. Then I’d keep it chilled and use it within a day.
Can you make it with crab or lobster?
For “the ultimate in posh egg dishes”, they suggest swapping the haddock for poached lobster in the Chicken & Egg version. And for crab, their Ultimate Comfort Food spiced crab omelette fills the eggs with 100g of white crab, ginger, chilli, tomatoes and coriander.
They credit Jay Fai, the Bangkok street food cook, with the idea for that one.
Is there a smoked haddock soufflé version?
Chicken & Egg has smoked haddock and shrimp soufflés, pairing the fish with Gruyère as their Arnold Bennett does, plus shrimps, mustard and dill. And they bake for about 12 minutes in six ramekins, which they call “a belter of a dish”.
But for one you can make ahead, their Mums Still Know Best twice-baked cheese soufflés bake the day before, then finish with Gruyère and cream.
