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French Omelet with Peas

A French omelette flavored with peas, mint, and butter, served hot.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Peas and mint are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,137 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓

French Omelet with Peas

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Combine the peas, butter, mint, salt, and pepper in a small saucepan.

  2. Heat the mixture until the butter melts.

  3. Keep the mixture warm.

Make the omelette

  1. Beat the eggs with a fork until well mixed.

  2. Stir in the hot water.

  3. Heat the olive oil or butter in the omelet pan.

  4. Pour in the eggs and lift frequently as they set, allowing the uncooked portion to flow underneath.

  5. Sprinkle the omelet with salt and pepper, and scatter the prepared peas on top.

  6. Fold the omelet and quickly brown the underside.

Serve

  1. Turn the omelet onto a warmed platter.

  2. Surround with the remaining peas and serve immediately.

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. Peas + minttop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,137 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  2. Peas + olivetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,066 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-hex-3-en-1-ol (freshly cut grass green and herbaceous notes).

  3. Mint + peppertop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,372 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  4. Mint + olivetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,240 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Pepper + olivetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together30,263 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Set into a tender structure that holds the filling when folded.
Butter
Adds richness and flavour, and helps the omelette brown lightly in the pan.
Green peas
Provide sweetness, texture and a bright green colour to the filling.
Mint leaves
Add a fresh, aromatic note that complements the peas.
Hot water
Adds moisture that keeps the eggs soft and tender as they cook.

The step that matters

Lifting the eggs as they set. Lifting the setting edges lets the uncooked egg flow underneath, so the omelette cooks evenly and stays tender rather than becoming rubbery or dry. Over-cooking the eggs toughens the proteins and makes them rubbery.

Swap the mint

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

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Tarragonfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Mintthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, peas, butter, pepper, olive. 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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