What beautiful things eggs are, I have always been fascinated with them. They look so perfect don't they? resplendent in their own elegant shape and vibrant in their plethora of natural colours. One of my favorite colours is duck egg blue.
I have always appreciated their value in the world of gastronomy, but as I have read more over the years, and understood better how they should be cooked, I have increasingly enjoyed eating them.
Whether it be an omelette, soft or hard boiled, fried, scrambled, poached or coddled they can create pretty instant genius in the kitchen. It clear that freshness is critical when preparing such dishes as omelette's and scrambled eggs. In Elizabeth David's fantastic collection of prose, 'An Omelette and a glass of wine' there is a piece about this particular little restaurant in France that was famous for omelette's. She describes how a rather keen diner wrote to the madame who owned the establishment wanting to know her secret, the proprietor replied ' Dear Madame, thank you for your letter. To make my omelette's I break the freshest eggs into a bowl, I mix carefully, season then pour into a warm pan, with some butter, I move the mixture gently around the pan and after a few minutes it is ready and I serve, thank you for your interest.', the secret was only the freshness.
The use of heat and seasoning when preparing all types of egg dishes is key; when frying, scrambling and making omelette's the importance of a thick, oiled pan and the correct level of flame, when boiling getting your timings right so as to produce the result you want. I find seven minutes gives you a pretty perfect hard boiled egg, still with a slightly giving yolk. Oh and the immediate requirement to submerge hard or soft boiled eggs into cold water once time is up to keep the golden yellow yolk just that. A poorly seasoned egg is not a happy one, salt and pepper make eggs smile.
Superb egg dishes that I have eaten at restaurants come to mind effortlessly; omelette Arnold Bennett at the Savoy, there is something magical about the combination of smoked haddock, eggs and cheese. Last year at Chez George in Paris I started my lunch with oeuf en gelee, it was totally memorable, molded in meaty aspic with a piece of ham and a sprig of tarragon on top, served with the freshest frisee. Eggs in aspic like this should be used more widely, it's a bit seventies maybe but superb none the less. Last but least souffle Suissesse at Gavroche is one of the best dishes I have ever eaten, each time I go there(I try at least once a year) I begin with this masterpiece of French cuisine. Made with many eggs, resulting in a creamy, cheesy, rich culinary delight, it's just sensational.
The role of the egg has no bounds actually. The amazing emulsion that is created when yolks are mixed with oil to form mayonnaise and the previously alluded to here on this blog aioli. Hard boiled and chopped and used to add texture and flavour to a sauce such as tartare, or sauce gribiche, or simply hard boiled and sliced as a garnish on a salad. Simon Hopkinson once paid Richard Olney(a fantastic American food writer who took up residence in Provence) a visit at his home, he recounted a salad that Richard served as a starter for him, with fresh green salad leaves and bright purple edible flowers both harvested from his garden that morning, served with hard boiled eggs sliced on top. Can you imagine the green, purple and bright yellow of the egg on the plate? eating on a terrace in Provencal sunshine, no doubt dressed with Richard's home made olive oil and vinegar. Drinking rose wine. So deliciously romantic.
An interesting question to pose oneself would be what is the eggs greatest companion? bacon or ham must be pretty high up there. A breakfast of fried eggs and bacon actually needs no support, similarly fine cooked ham with fried eggs needs little adornment. At this time of the year what could be better than dipping freshly steamed asparagus into a soft boiled egg?
For years on the great St John restaurant menu a starter of bacon, egg and beans appeared. I kept missing it on my visits to the restaurant, eventually I collided with it and what a brilliant plate of food it was. It always amuses me the way Fergus(Henderson)likes to play on names of dishes and one could have been forgiven thinking this was some kind of ode to breakfast. It was of course none of the sort. It is a delicious, easy and intelligent use of bacon and egg together with the added freshness of green beans and parsley, it works like a dream;
St John egg, bacon and beans (enough for two)
three eggs(boiled for seven minutes, put into cold water, peeled and halved)
unsmoked bacon lardons fried off and drained of fat or left over pot roast of bacon cut into pieces, couple of handfuls worth
two handfuls of green beans topped and tailed then boiled in salted water until bendy, no more.
good handful of flat leaf or curly parsley finely chopped
vinaigrette(oil, vinegar, lemon juice, crushed garlic clove, seasoning, dollop of Dijon mustard)
Throw the cooked beans and bacon into a mixing bowl, add parsley, mix and dress with vinaigrette. Season a bit more. Place a mound of the beans onto a plate, slice an egg, it should still have a gooey yolk, and lay three halves on the beans. Add a bit more parsley and drizzle of dressing and serve.
Wonderful.
It is appropriate to finish with something from dear Elizabeth David. For it was her more than anyone that inspired me with her writing about eggs and in particular omelette's. Below is her recipe for omelette moliere, she used to eat it in a little restaurant in Avignon she frequented, it was one of her favorites and after many years of cooking and eating it myself I can see why.
Elizabeth David
omelette moliere (a hearty supper for one)
three very fresh eggs
tablespoon of freshly grated Parmesan
tablespoon of fresh unsalted butter
tablespoon of very finely diced Gruyere
tablespoon of fresh thick cream
Beat the eggs gently and fold in the Parmesan, season with salt and pepper. Heat your favorite omelette pan for a minute or so on the stove and throw in the butter. Just as the butter starts to bubble and before it changes colour pour in the egg mixture, throw in the little dices of Gruyere and cream. Tilt the pan toward you, then away from you, maybe twice each way. The Gruyere will be slightly melting now, the omelette is ready. Fold the omelette or tip out in concertina fashion, up to you. You should have a golden, puffy roll of joy, spilling out a little at the edges. Serve immediately with a sharply dressed green salad.
Sub note; I realise that in this post I have only touched on the savory side of eggs. It is my intention to one day be able to understand well, then write about, the wonder of cake and all things sweet involving eggs too.
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