How long should the eggs be beaten?

The eggs are beaten for 20 minutes, then pepper and cream are stirred in before beating on for 5 minutes.

How is the omelet baked?

The butter (35 g) is melted in a pan, the egg mixture is poured in, and the pan is set in the oven. It is baked until the omelet has set and is a light golden brown.

What do the filling and the sauce consist of?

The filling is a stew of butter, wheat flour, cream or milk, cold water, sherry and finely cut ham. The sauce is made from butter, finely cut celery or mushroom, wheat flour, a little coloring, meat stock, sherry and salt.

Where does the recipe come from?

From Henriette Schønberg Erken's Stor kokebok (1914), page 428. It serves 4.

Ham Omelet – recipe from 1914

Name: Ham Omelet
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Norwegian
Ingredients: 4 pcs eggs; 0.25 tsp pepper; 3 tbsp cream; 35 g butter (for frying); 25 g butter (for the stew); 25 g wheat flour (for the stew); 2 dl cream or milk (for the stew); 0.75 dl cold water (1/2–1 dl); 1.5 dl sherry (for the stew); 150 g cooked ham (finely cut; "1 small dessert-plateful"); 25 g butter (for the sauce); 25 g wheat flour (for the sauce); 3 tbsp finely cut celery or mushroom; 2 dl meat stock; 0.25 dl sherry (for the sauce); 1 pinch caramel coloring (optional); salt (to taste)

About the dish

An oven-baked omelet with a creamy ham stew and a brown celery sauce with sherry — a classic entrée in Erken's chapter on salads, omelets and entrées.

How to make it

1
Beat the eggs
Beat the eggs well for 20 minutes, stir in the pepper and cream and beat on for 5 minutes.
2
Bake the omelet
Melt the butter in a pan, pour in the egg mixture and set the pan in the oven. Bake until the omelet has set and is a light golden brown.
3
Make the ham stew
Melt the butter, stir in the flour and thin with the cream and water. Bring to a boil, add the sherry, the finely cut ham and salt to taste.
4
Fill and fold
Lay the stew in the middle of the omelet and fold it over from both sides.
5
Make the sauce
Brown the butter, stir in the flour and thin with the stock. Bring to a boil and skim. Add the sherry and the celery, which has first been cooked 5 minutes in salted water. Season with salt and stir in the coloring.
6
Serve
Pour the sauce over the omelet and serve at once.

Changes from the original

The ingredient list is split into omelet, stew and sauce, since the OCR columns were interwoven. "del." is converted to deciliters, "spoons" to tablespoons, "a knife-point of coloring" kept as optional caramel coloring. The method is set in numbered steps in modern Norwegian; the beating can be done with an electric whisk in less time.

Original 1914 recipe

Verbatim from the first edition of the Big Cookbook.

Facsimile of the 1914 page at the National Library of Norway — Foto: Faksimile: Nasjonalbiblioteket

ProofreadPage 428

4 egg 1/4 teske pepper 3 skeer fløte 35 gr. smør. Til stuingen: 25 gr. smør 25 gr. hvetemel 2 del. fløte eller melk 1/2—1 del. koldt vand 1 1/2 del. sherry 1 liten desserttallerkenfuld skinke salt. Til sausen: 25 gr. smør 3 spiseskeer finskaaren selleri eller champignons 25 gr. hvetemel 1 knivsod kulør 2 del. kjøtkraft 1/4 del. sherry salt. Eggene vispes i 20 minutter, irøres pepper og fløten; vispes i 5 minutter. Smørret smeltes i pande, røren heldes i, og panden sættes ind i stekeovnen; stekes, til omeletten er stivnet og lyse gulbrun. Følgende stuing lægges i midten: Smørret smeltes, irøres melet, spædes med fløten og vandet, gives et opkok, tilsættes sherry, den finskaarne skinke samt salt efter smak. Omeletten slaaes sammen fra begge sider og overheldes med følgende saus: Smørret brunes, irøres melet, spædes med kraften, gives et opkok, skummes, tilsættes sherry, den finskaarne selleri, som først har kokt 5 minutter i saltet vand. Salt efter smak; kuløren røres i.

Revised 1949 recipe

From the revised edition of the Big Cookbook.

Facsimile of the 1949 page at the National Library of Norway — Foto: Faksimile: Nasjonalbiblioteket

ProofreadPage 476

4 egg 4 teskje pepper 3 skjeer fløte 35 gr. smør. Eggene vispes i 20 minutter, irøres pepper og fløten; vispes i 5 minutter. Smøret smeltes i panne, røren helles i, og pannen settes inn i steke ovnen; stekes til omeletten er stivnet og lyse gulbrun. Følgende stuing legges i midten: 30 gr. smør 25 gr. hvetemel 1 knivsodd kulør 2 del. fløte eller melk 3/4—1 del. koldt vann 1/2 del. sherry salt 1 liten desserttallerkenfull skinke. Smøret smeltes, irøres melet, spes med fløten og vannet, gis et opkok, tilsettes sherry, den finskårne skinke samt salt efter smak. Omeletten slåes sammen fra begge sider og overhelles med følgende saus: 25 gr. smør 3 spiseskjeer finskåren selleri eller sopp 25 gr. hvetemel 1 knivsodd kulør 2 del. kjøttkraft 1/2 del. sherry salt. Smøret brunes, irøres melet, spes med kraften, gis et opkok, skummes, tilsettes sherry, den finskårne selleri som først har kokt 5 minutter i saltet vann. Salt efter smak; kuløren røres i. Til 3 å 4 personer.

Ham Omelet

About the dish

How to make it

Changes from the original

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