Monday 11 January 2010

Making More Of Eggs! (Comté Baked Eggs)

So! Eggs then. One of the most versatile ingredients available to us and one of my personal favourites and yet, I've shown such a lack of imagination in using them.

Yes, I enjoy them boiled, fried, scrambled and as omelettes. Yes, I have made eggy quiches and flans. And yes, I use them plentifully in baking.

But I've really not shown much initiative in making them the star of the meal in more varied ways and that is something I'm putting right with the help of Michel Roux's book on Eggs, which I posted about recently.


The second recipe Pete and I made from the book was baked eggs at it's simplest - just eggs and cream, really.

To Roux's succinct list of butter, salt, pepper, eggs and double cream we added some grated Comté.

Comté Baked Eggs
Ingredients
Butter, salt and pepper
Eggs
Double cream (1 tablespoon per egg)
Grated Comté (1 tablespoon per egg)

Method
  • Preheat the oven to 170°C and put the kettle on to boil.
  • Butter the ramekins and season with salt and pepper
  • Place the ramekins into a baking tray.
  • Break an egg into each ramekin
  • Carefully spoon in about a tablespoon of double cream into each ramekin. Roux counsels taking care to avoid covering the yolk with the cream, but we found it made no difference to the end result (having done so in one ramekin by accident).
  • Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top.
  • Pour boiling water into the baking tray around the ramekins to come approximately half way up the sides.
  • Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes until the egg whites are reasonably firm but the yolk still runny.
Two each served with buttered toast made a simple but very satisfying weekday supper.

More elaborate versions in the book include baked eggs with chicken livers and shallots in wine, baked eggd with smoked haddock and grain mustard and eggs en cocotte with girolles! Mmm!



Michel Roux's "Eggs", published by Quadrille, is priced at £9.99 but is currently (on posting) available from Amazon for just £6.46 (for the paperback edition).

10 comments:

Unknown said...

I've not done eggs like this before either. I remember Delia doing them as "eggs en cocotte" ages ago but never got around to trying it. The book sounds good.

misswhiplash said...

I've just bought this book too.
I LOVE it :)

Kavey said...

Ooh, which dishes have you made so far?

Anonymous said...

Mmm...tasty sounding. recipe bookmarked!!

S said...

Kavey, i ADORE the simplicity of this dish. eggs, cream, cheese. scrummy. x btw happy new year, Kavey!

Unknown said...

Beautifully done. Eggs are one of my favorites too. I save those little glass dishes from GU and Bonne Maman deserts, so I should try making these in there :).
I have seen that book. It looks like a good one. There is also another really good one like that on pastry.

Kavey said...

HH, these ARE those little glass dishes from Gu! ;)

Unknown said...

Love that you used the glass dishes from Gu - I always save them as well - recycling!

Winton said...

I tried this recipe having been away for a few days, returning to look into a rather bleak 'fridge. Not wanting to skate over ice to the shops and back I assembled the ingredients and what a lovely result. As a cheese lover I can't imagine it without the cheese though.
Used GU pots too! If in a chocolate mood I manage to convince myself (blow the price!) that I'm buying them as crockery as much as for their contents. Ultimate recycling!

Jeanne said...

Oh..... those sound so good! I fully support your addition of Comte!