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Asparagus Omelet

A fried egg omelet with boiled asparagus, seasoned with pepper and sea salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Asparagus and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,968 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Asparagus Omelet

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Boil the asparagus until tender.

  2. Cut the green ends into small pieces.

  3. Beat the eggs well and mix in the asparagus pieces.

Cook and serve

  1. Heat clarified butter in a small frying pan.

  2. Pour the egg mixture into the pan.

  3. Sprinkle with pepper and coarse sea salt.

  4. Fry until nicely browned, then serve immediately with butter sauce and vinegar.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Asparagus + peppertop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,968 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Asparagus + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,338 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  3. Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Asparagus + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,026 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  5. Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Set when cooked, forming the body of the omelet around the asparagus.
Asparagus
Adds tender texture and a fresh, vegetal flavor to the egg mixture.
Clarified butter
Fat for frying that promotes browning and adds rich flavor without milk solids burning.

The step that matters

Fry until nicely browned. Browning adds flavor, but high heat can scorch the bottom before the egg sets. Moderate heat lets the center cook through while the surface turns golden.

Swap the asparagus

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, butter, pepper):

  1. Capsicumfits about as well
  2. Asparagusthe original
  3. Chivefits about as well
  4. Potatofits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, butter, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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