I long to break into the freckled shell of a boiled egg and lift its snow white and deep orange heart with a teaspoon. I even find myself gazing at a fluffy omelette, its baveuse interior oozing out as the fork goes in. But alas, there is no cheque large enough to tempt me to eat an egg. Whether boiled, scrambled, poached or fried, the egg has always been my culinary bête noir. I like my oeufs well and truly hidden. Custard, cake, meringue or mayonnaise are among my favourite things to eat, as is a souffle, a creme caramel or a mousse, but the egg must always be in total disguise. I have been like this all my life and I reluctantly admit that, at this age, my aversion is unlikely to change.
But I don’t write this column for myself, I write it for you and, let’s be honest, most sensible people do find the egg one of the most indispensable ingredients in the kitchen. So eggs it is, cheap and as cheerful as a sunny spring morning. In the recipes that follow there are crisp golden croissants cooked in the style of eggy bread; eggs briefly baked with pink prawns and scarlet chillies, there are egg whites in a souffle and yolks in a peppercorn-spiked mayonnaise. I have also made a tender loaf cake with dried apricots and homemade lemon curd, and a garlic-flecked tangle of tagliatelle. Who knows, I may eat that boiled egg yet.
Baked eggs with prawns and Thai basil
A simple dish of baked eggs with shellfish and aromatics. You can use prawns, tiny beige brown shrimps or crayfish tails here. This is a quick supper so I would probably buy them ready shelled rather than shell my own. Use Italian basil if the deliciously aniseedy Thai variety proves evasive. And I would bring some bread to the table too, a crusty baguette to tear apart and dip into the softly quivering egg.
Serves 2
spring onions 2
red chilli 2 large
Thai basil leaves 10
shelled crayfish tails or prawns 150g
eggs 4
groundnut oil 2 tbsp
nori flakes 2 tsp
toasted sesame seeds 1 tbsp
Set the oven to 230C fan/gas mark 8. Roughly chop the spring onions. (I like to cut them diagonally into 2cm lengths.) Chop the chilli similarly.
Put the basil leaves and the crayfish tails or prawns into a medium-sized baking dish. Break the eggs into the dish, then scatter the onion and chilli over the top. Trickle the oil over and season with salt and black pepper.
Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven until the eggs have just set. Scatter the nori flakes and toasted sesame seeds over.
Baked croissants with ham and cheese
Late last Sunday morning, I brought to the table a batch of croissants cooked in the style of pain perdu, but stuffed with dark curls of speck and pools of melted fontina. Deliciously crisp and brown, the cheese formed pizza-style strings and they disappeared in minutes. Other cheeses will work here, but a semi-hard, easy to grate cheese is best.
Makes 4
eggs 6
grain mustard 1 tbsp
milk 100ml
croissants 4 large
fontina 150g
speck or other air-dried ham 8 thin slices
Set the oven at 200C fan/gas mark 6.
Break the eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk them lightly to combine yolks and whites. Stir in the mustard and 100ml of the milk.
Using a breadknife, cut the croissants in half horizontally then dunk them in the egg and milk, pushing them down so they are thoroughly soaked. Lay the bottom halves of each croissant side by side in a baking dish or roasting tin.
Grate the fontina. Divide the speck between the croissants, tearing it as necessary, then sprinkle 25g of cheese over each of the ham-covered halves. Place the top halves back in place on each croissant, then scatter over any remaining cheese.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes till the cheese has melted.
Smoked trout with chicory and green peppercorn mayonnaise
I have always enjoyed making mayonnaise, except for the rare occasion when it fails (normally on very humid or thundery days). The speed at which you add the oil really does make all the difference. I start with a few, large single drops, increasing the flow to never more than a mere trickle. Adding too much oil in one go will almost always result in a curdled mayonnaise.
The green peppercorns you need are the soft, dark green variety sold in little jars of brine. I like the brief bursts of heat you get from adding them whole, but you could crush them using a pestle and mortar for a more even, gradual heat. If you don’t have any peppercorns in the cupboard, keep the recipe for another time.
Serves 4
smoked trout fillets 8
cider vinegar 4 tsp
For the mayonnaise
egg yolks 3
dijon mustard 2 tsp
cider vinegar 1 tsp
groundnut oil 100ml
olive oil 50ml
green peppercorns in brine 1 tsp
dill 10g
For the salad
white chicory 2 heads
red chicory 2 small heads
parsley a small bunch
dill a few sprigs
For the mayonnaise, put the egg yolks in a mixing bowl with the mustard and cider vinegar. Mix thoroughly, then slowly add the oils, a drop at time, whisking continuously with a large balloon whisk accelerating to a steady stream as the mayonnaise starts to thicken.
Drain the green peppercorns of their brine but don’t rinse them, add them to the mayonnaise. Finely chop the dill, stir into the mayonnaise, cover and refrigerate.
Separate the chicory leaves and wash in cold running water. Dry them in a salad spinner or on a tea towel, then put them in a large serving bowl. Tear the parsley leaves and dill fronds from the stems and add them to the chicory. Pour over the mayonnaise dressing and toss gently to coat the leaves.
Place 2 smoked trout fillets on each plate, sprinkle a little cider vinegar over the fillets, then place some of the chicory mayonnaise at their side.
Black garlic and mushroom tagliatelle
A hint of springtime here with tiny mushrooms and a faint breath of aniseed. As you twirl the tagliatelle round your fork, the egg yolk is very lightly cooked by the residual heat of the freshly drained pasta. (That said, this isn’t a recipe for anyone who wants to avoid raw egg.) Chervil, which I find from time to time at the greengrocer, adds a light aniseed note to this tangle of pasta and parmesan. It is isn’t the easiest herb to get hold of, and if you can’t find its delicate lace-like leaves you could use tarragon.
Serves 2
small chestnut mushrooms 200g
olive oil 4 tbsp
black garlic 1 clove
tagliatelle 250g
parsley 3 tbsp, chopped
chervil leaves a handful
egg yolks 2
parmesan 60g, grated
Bring a deep pan of water to the boil and salt generously.
Cut the mushrooms into quarters or in thick slices, as you wish. Warm the olive oil in a shallow pan over a moderate heat, add the mushrooms and let them cook, with the occasional stir or shake, for 8-10 minutes till golden and starting to crisp.
Chop the black garlic and add to the mushrooms then turn off the heat. The garlic will cook in the residual heat.
Cook the tagliatelle in the boiling water for 8 or 9 minutes till al dente, then drain and immediately toss with the mushrooms, garlic and chopped parsley. Add the chervil leaves then divide between two plates or pasta bowls. Break the eggs and separate the white and yolks (you only need the yolks). Add a yolk to the middle of each dish then grate the parmesan over. Stir the egg yolk and cheese into the pasta as you eat.
Asparagus souffle
I look forward to the arrival of the first locally grown asparagus in spring with the same excitement I do the first gooseberries of summer, or the damsons of early autumn. It is the clearest of seasonal markers, the first true sign that spring is well and truly here. And yes, it does seem to appear earlier with each passing year and I have no problem with that. You could make an asparagus souffle by boiling and pureeing the tips and folding them in with the egg whites, but that would be to lose much of the elegance of the spears themselves. I prefer to cook the souffle in a shallow baking dish with the spears peeping through the cheesy clouds.
Serves 2-3
To prepare the dish
butter a knob
parmesan 2 tbsp, finely grated
asparagus 12 spears
For the souffle
milk 300ml
bay leaf 1
onion 1 small, peeled
tarragon 15g, leaves picked and chopped
butter 55g
flour 50g
eggs 4 large, separated
strongly flavoured, firm cheese such as yarg, gruyere or cheddar 125g, grated or cut into small pieces
parmesan 3tbsp, grated
Lightly butter the inside of a baking dish measuring about 28cm x 22cm, then scatter in the 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan, tipping the dish from side to side to make sure the cheese sticks to the butter.
Cook the asparagus in boiling water for 8 minutes then drain on kitchen paper. Set the oven at 200C fan/gas mark 6. Bring the milk to the boil in a small pan together with the bay leaf and onion. Turn off the heat and let it sit for a few minutes.
Melt the butter in a small, heavy-based saucepan, stir in the flour and leave over the heat for two or three minutes, stirring almost continuously. (You can chuck the bay and onion at this point – they have done their work.) Stir in the warm milk, gradually at first, then a little faster, till you have a thick sauce. Let it come to an enthusiastic bubble, then lower the heat and let the mixture simmer for at least 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until it is thick and smooth.
If your sauce looks lumpy, then whisk fiercely until it is smooth and thick. Remove from the heat, cool briefly, then stir or whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time. Work quickly, otherwise the egg will cook before it gets stirred in.
Stir the grated cheese and chopped tarragon into the sauce. In a large bowl, using a large balloon whisk beat the egg whites till stiff and frothy. Fold them gently but firmly into the cheese sauce, then immediately scrape into the buttered dish.
Place the spears of asparagus on top of the cheese sauce, then scatter the grated parmesan over. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes till puffed and golden.
Apricot and lemon curd crumble cake
As I took this still warm cake from the oven, the scent of citrus and butter wafted up, reminding me of why I bake rather than buy. There are three elements here: the apricot sponge itself; the lemon curd; and the crumble that crowns the cake. This is not a recipe to hurry. Instead, a piece of baking to take your time over, an hour or two of quiet hands-on time in the kitchen, perhaps with the radio on and no distractions. The finished cake will keep for several days in a cake tin. We ate it as both tea-time treat (with a pot of fresh mint tea) and as dessert, with a spoonful of thick yogurt nudging against the crumble crust. The recipe makes slightly more lemon curd than you need, but it will keep for a week in a stoppered jar in the fridge. A truly splendid thing when spread thickly on hot, toasted muffins.
Serves 8
For the lemon curd
unwaxed lemons 4
caster sugar 200g
butter 100g
eggs 3
egg yolk 1
For the cake
butter 125g
caster sugar 125g
self-raising flour 75g
ground almonds 75g
eggs 3 medium
soft dried apricots 75g
icing sugar for dusting
For the crumble
butter 80g
plain flour 110g
demerara sugar 3 tbsp
icing sugar 2 tbsp
You will need a 20cm x 10cm x 7cm rectangular loaf tin lined with baking parchment.
Make the lemon curd: finely grate the lemons, then squeeze their juice. Put the lemon zest and juice, the sugar and the butter, cut into cubes, into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, making sure that the bottom of the basin doesn’t touch the water. Stir with a whisk from time to time until the butter has melted.
Mix the eggs and egg yolk lightly with a fork, then stir into the lemon mixture. Let the curd cook, stirring regularly, for about 10 minutes, until it is thick and custard-like. It should feel heavy on the whisk. Remove from the heat and stir occasionally as it cools.
Make the cake: cream the butter and caster sugar together until light and fluffy. This is best done using a food mixer. Stir together the flour and ground almonds. Break the eggs into a bowl and beat with a fork or small whisk. Chop the apricots finely using a food processor.
While the butter and sugar are creaming together, make the crumble. Rub the 80g of butter, in small pieces, into the flour, then stir in the demerara sugar and set aside. Set the oven at 180C fan/gas mark 4. Line the cake tin.
Add the beaten egg, a little at a time, to the creamed butter and caster sugar. If the mixture starts to curdle, then add a few tablespoons of the flour to bring it together. Mix in the flour and chopped apricots.
Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf tin and smooth the surface. Spoon in 250g of the lemon curd and smooth the surface. Trickle a teaspoon or two of cold water over the crumble mix and shake the dish so the crumbs form a mixture of fine and coarse lumps. It makes for a more interestingly textured crumble. Tip the crumble over the lemon curd then bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until lightly firm.
Remove the cake from the oven and set aside to rest until almost cool. Remove the cake from the tin, peel away the parchment, dust the cake with icing sugar and serve.
Chocolate mousse, praline cream
A wonderful play on contrasts here. A dark and fudgy chocolate mousse served with a light praline cream. The latter lends a welcome air of lightness to the mousse, so the cries of “just a spoonful for me” soon become pleas for second helpings. The darker chocolates, anything around 60-70% cocoa, will provide a deeply lingering chocolate flavour without any bitterness. (Avoid at all cost anything about 80%, it is generally almost inedible.)
Serves 6
dark chocolate 250g
butter 30g
hot espresso 3 tbsp
eggs 5
For the praline cream
shelled pistachios 75g
caster sugar 150g
double cream 250ml
dried rose petals a handful
Put a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Break the chocolate into small pieces, and let it melt in the bowl without stirring. Remove from the heat as soon as the chocolate is liquid, add the butter in small pieces and stir, very briefly, then add the hot coffee, stirring gently.
Separate the eggs and beat the whites until they are almost stiff. Stir the egg yolks into the melted chocolate then fold the whites in, making sure there are no lumps of unincorporated egg white.
Put the bowl in the fridge, covered, and leave for at least four hours to set.
Shortly before you wish to eat, make the praline: put the pistachios and sugar into a large, shallow pan over a low to moderate heat. Let the sugar melt and turn a dark amber. Try to avoid stirring and instead, move the pan left and right, encouraging the caramel to melt evenly.
When the sugar has all melted and you have rich, mid-brown caramel, pour onto a lightly oiled baking sheet and leave to set.
Break the praline into pieces and reduce to coarse crumbs in a food processor, or by crushing and shattering with a rolling pin. Lightly whip the cream until it is almost stiff then fold in most of the crushed praline.
Spoon large scoops of mousse onto plates, then add an almost equal amount of praline cream to each. Scatter over the reserved crushed praline, and if you have any, a few dried or fresh rose petals.
The Observer aims to publish recipes for fish rated as sustainable by the Marine Conservation Society’s Good Fish Guide
