The Omelette Invented for a Famous Novelist 🍳

Fluffy eggs, flaky smoked haddock and a rich, bubbling cheese sauce, all grilled until golden. This is omelette Arnold Bennett, a true Savoy Hotel classic. 🎩🍳 Smoked haddock is gently poached in milk, then that smoky milk becomes a rich, cheesy sauce with cream and Gruyère. It's spooned over a soft, open omelette and finished under a hot grill until puffed and golden. The Savoy Hotel in London created it in 1929 for the novelist Arnold Bennett, who's said to have asked for it wherever he went! ⏱ CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:14 Ingredients 0:24 Poaching the haddock 0:44 The cheese sauce 1:14 The omelette 1:44 Topping 2:04 Under the grill 2:14 Serving 2:24 Final thoughts 📝 INGREDIENTS (serves 2) 🐟 Haddock • 200g undyed smoked haddock • 300ml whole milk • 1 bay leaf 🧀 Cheese sauce • 15g butter • 15g plain flour • About 200ml of the poaching milk • 4 tbsp double cream • 50g Gruyère or mature cheddar, grated (half for the sauce, half for the top) • Pinch of grated nutmeg 🍳 Omelette • 5 large eggs • 15g butter • Salt & black pepper • Fresh chives, snipped 👩‍🍳 METHOD 1. Poach the haddock in the milk with the bay leaf over a low heat for 4 mins. Lift out, flake (removing skin and bones) and keep the milk. 2. Melt the butter in a small pan, stir in the flour and cook for 1 min. Gradually whisk in about 200ml of the poaching milk until smooth and thick. 3. Stir in the cream, half the cheese and the nutmeg, then fold in the haddock. 4. Heat the grill to high. 5. Whisk the eggs with salt and pepper. Melt the butter in a 24–26cm ovenproof frying pan until foaming, then add the eggs. 6. Stir gently, drawing in the edges, until the base is set but the top is still soft. Don't fold. 7. Spoon the haddock sauce over the omelette and scatter with the remaining cheese. 8. Grill for 2–3 mins until puffed, golden and bubbling. 9. Scatter with chives and serve immediately with salad or buttered toast. 💡 TIP: Use an ovenproof pan with a metal handle, because it goes under the grill. And don't overcook the eggs in the pan. They'll keep cooking under the grill, so leave the top soft and runny. ⚠️ Check carefully for fish bones, and use an oven glove, because the pan handle gets very hot under the grill. ▶️ WATCH NEXT: More Smoked Haddock recipes, including Kedgeree, Cullen Skink and Smoked Haddock Pâté! Breakfast, lunch or dinner? 👇 And subscribe for more easy British recipes every week! #omelettearnoldbennett #smokedhaddock #britishfood