An omelet made with just egg yolks was the unlikely center of a celebrity row this week, but how does the dish really taste?
After James Corden was forced to apologize to Balthazar manager Keith McNally after he was “rude” in complaining that his wife Julia Carey’s egg yolk dish contained traces of egg whites, which she is “allergic” to, FEMAIL decided that preparing your own dish to find out what all the fuss was about.
Corden was forced to apologize on The Late Late Show, where he explained he and his wife had sent the dish back three times after finding traces of egg yolk on the plate – but according to nutritionist Reema Patel it’s ‘impossible’ to completely separate the two parts of an egg.
But is an egg yolk omelet really worth all that controversy? I made a version of the dish for myself to find out…
After James Corden came under fire for his “very rude” complaint to Balthazar staff when his wife, who is “severely allergic” to egg whites, was allegedly given an omelet containing the ingredient, FEMAIL decided to investigate how difficult it is to create it the dish
Seasoned with salt and pepper and simmered in copious amounts of butter, the egg yolk omelet took little more than a minute to cook
While I’m not the biggest fan of omelets, I was commissioned to recreate the egg yolk omelette Balthazar made for Julia Carey on the day of the incident that led to her husband’s ban from the brasserie.
I don’t think I’ve ever followed an omelet recipe before in my life, and I didn’t want to start with that today, so I decided to use a method similar to what I would use for scrambled eggs – the eggs themselves (No white wine of course), salt and pepper, chives for a little flavor and lots of butter.
I used five eggs for the recipe, mainly because I accidentally split the yolk of the sixth, making it useless for this experiment. Then I set about separating the yolks as best I could.
Instead of twisting the yolk between two pieces of shell, I used a technique I’d picked up from years of watching James Martin cooking shows and poured the whole egg into my hands, letting the egg white fall between the gaps in my fingers and into a bowl .
Before pouring the egg mixture into the pan, I added a generous amount of butter, melted until sizzling
Julia had ordered an egg yolk omelette and told the staff she wanted it without the egg white because she was allergic, but sent the plate back when the dish arrived with the egg white in it. The last straw was when the newly made omelet was shipped with a side of homemade fries instead of salad
For the most part it works pretty well and it’s a method I’ve used successfully to make custard over the years.
However, it’s safe to say that this isn’t a method that completely and completely removes every trace of egg white, with at least a small drop of the material sticking to the yolk as it falls into the bowl. Our nutritionist was definitely right.
After separating my yolks, I started beating and was surprised at how thick the mixture was. After already losing an egg yolk to my clumsiness and knowing I had to make a decent meal, I decided to improvise.
In the extensive research I did before starting my experiment, I had read that it is possible to add a little water to an egg yolk mixture to make it a bit more viscous (which I was hoping would go a little further) . . I added about two teaspoons of water to the bowl before whisking vigorously to combine.
On the side, I finely chopped a small handful of chives to add some flavor to my omelette. Although cheese is usually the accompaniment of choice when it comes to omelettes, we didn’t want to compromise the overall texture of the dish, so chives would have to do.
The omelette didn’t take long in the pan at all and was cooked in seconds while bubbling
Following further advice from James Martin, I added a generous helping of butter to a pan over medium-high heat and let it melt until it was bubbling. Meanwhile, I seasoned the egg mixture in the bowl.
When the butter was ready I added the egg mixture and turned the heat down so it bubbled nicely. While it was cooking, I sprinkled the chopped chives on top.
It took little over a minute to finish, at which point I folded it up and dumped it straight onto a plate. It was time to taste my creation.
Overall the flavor wasn’t bad and maybe better than a traditional omelette as the yolk, which contains most of the fat, allowed for a rich, silky flavor. The chives added some bite, and I don’t think anything can taste off when cooked in that much butter.
The texture was slightly unusual, with the omelet feeling chewy and spongy than one made with a full egg. However, it was very enjoyable to eat and overall I think I did a decent job.
One thing I noticed throughout the process was that although I could see tiny traces of egg white in the yolk when I first separated them, from the moment I slapped it all together I couldn’t recognized – which could be dangerous for allergy sufferers.
Nutritionist Reema said: “If someone is allergic to egg whites but not to the yolk, eating an egg yolk omelet is strongly discouraged.
“That’s because it’s not possible to separate the albumen from the yolk – which leads to contamination. Even the smallest protein can trigger an immune response that can be harmful.”
Nonetheless, if you don’t have allergies, it was a perfect dish – and the good news is I can easily whip up a meringue for dessert.