SOUFFLé OMELET WITH APRICOT SAUCE

Soufflé Omelet With Apricot Sauce image

Soufflé omelets are quick desserts that sound a lot more difficult to make than they actually are. The sauce for these is adapted from an apricot filling for crepes in Sherry Yard's book "Desserts by the Yard."

Provided by Martha Rose Shulman

Time 25m

Yield Yield: 4 servings.

Number Of Ingredients 13

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar
1 cup fresh orange juice
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 ripe apricots, pitted and quartered
3 eggs, separated
Small pinch of cream of tartar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon Cointreau
Small pinch salt
Small pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 tablespoons lightly toasted slivered almonds
Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Steps:

For the sauce, in a medium saucepan combine the sugar, orange juice and vanilla bean seeds or vanilla extract and bring to a boil. Reduce by a third. Add the apricots, turn the heat down to medium and simmer 5 to 10 minutes, until the apricots are soft. Remove from the heat and divide among 4 plates or pour the sauce onto a platter and arrange the apricots on the edge.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Have the platter for your omelet close at hand.
Whisk the egg whites in a clean dry bowl or in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. When they begin to foam, add the cream of tartar and continue to whisk at medium speed until they form medium peaks. Continue whisking on medium speed while you slowly add the sugar, until the egg whites form stiff, satiny but not dry peaks.
In another large bowl, beat the egg yolks and add the Cointreau, salt and nutmeg. Stir 1/4 of the egg whites into this mixture, then gently fold in the rest.
Heat a 10-inch skillet that can go into the oven over medium-high heat. Add the butter to the hot pan, and when the foam subsides and the butter is just beginning to color, gently scrape in the egg mixture, using a rubber spatula. Do not stir. Immediately transfer to the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, until puffed. Remove from the heat, sprinkle half the toasted almonds over the omelet and slide or turn out onto the platter, folding the puffed omelet in half as you do. Sprinkle with the remaining toasted almonds and dust with powdered sugar if you wish. Spoon onto the plates with the apricot sauce and serve. Note: You can also serve the apricot sauce separately and spoon it over the soufflé.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 238, UnsaturatedFat 5 grams, Carbohydrate 33 grams, Fat 9 grams, Fiber 2 grams, Protein 6 grams, SaturatedFat 3 grams, Sodium 102 milligrams, Sugar 29 grams, TransFat 0 grams