Omelette with Wild Mushrooms, Shallot, and Emmental

Got to Paris this morning; the jetlag is finally hitting me so I'll keep this as short as possible.

Overall, I am pretty happy with my apartment. My dreams of having a romantic Parisian apartment with a wrought-iron balcony were shattered when I learned I was living over a Sushi Express, but there's a lot of positive to this place so I don't mind. For example, the kitchen is pretty sweet.

And one thing I've noticed in France already is that eating is taken to another level here. For lunch I sat at a typical French brasserie with a friend from Lyon, and we sat there for three hours! And this apparently is how French people eat. Slowly, savoring not only the food but the moment as well. With all of the fresh ingredients available to them, I don't blame them either!

There are a lot of utensils that I'll need to pick up over the next couple of days, but since today was a long day I decided to make dinner pretty simple - an omelette with mushrooms, shallots, parsley, and emmental cheese. Super easy and delicious.

Using wild mushrooms adds an intense, deep, and smoky flavor to the omelette, which pairs beautifully with a lighter-flavored cheese like emmental. Fresh herbs plus the tanginess of shallots adds even more depth to the flavor.

Omelette with Wild Mushrooms, Shallot, and Emmental - serves 1

2 tablespoons butter

1 shallot, chopped

2 oz wild mushrooms, such as oyster, shiitake, or chanterelle mushrooms, ends cut off and sliced

1 large handful fresh parsley, chopped

2 eggs (or 3 if you want to make this dish a little heavier)

about 1 oz emmental cheese (you can eyeball this to make it more or less cheesy to your taste)

1. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a medium or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallot and mushrooms, and sautee until slightly browned, about 5 minutes

2. Remove shallot and mushrooms from heat, stir in about a teaspoon of parsley, and set aside

3. In a small bowl beat together the eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper

4. Melt remaining 1 tbsp. butter in a small skillet over medium heat, and once the butter is bubbling, add the eggs

5. Cook the eggs until done, sliding the sides of the eggs forward to let the runny parts reach the bottom of the pan (see below)

6. Add the cheese, then add almost all of the shallot and mushroom mixture (saving a tiny bit for garnish). Fold the omelette over, slide onto a plate, and sprinkle remaining mushroom mixture and parsley on top. Serve with some sliced French bread!
I'm thinking fish in a white wine sauce tomorrow...