A new look at cooking and home decorating...with an attempt to add more greens to the plate, more vegetarian options & hopefully lots of new ideas to explore

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Shirred Eggs


A shirred egg is quickly cooked under the broiler until just set. For me that is exactly four minutes. I like the yolk quite runny, luscious and golden. My preference is also for hearty herbs like cilantro to be baked in with the eggs. This is an incredibly simple dish to make and very easy. It is important however, that every ingredient be ready and set out before you begin.

The gratin dishes (a flat dish about 5” available in cookware shops) should be buttered. I also crack the eggs into small Pyrex bowls (2 per bowl) before I begin- make sure not to break the yolk.

1 gratin dish per person, buttered
2-3 eggs per person, cracked into dishes or teacups (2-3 per cup) and ready to be poured into hot gratin dishes
1 ½ teaspoons minced herbs (try basil, cilantro, parsley, or even add in a little freshly minced chili) per person
1 Tablespoon cheese- grated or crumbled Parmesan or goat cheese – per person
½ Teaspoon freshly minced garlic – per person
Course salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Make sure your dishes are buttered. Move your oven rack to about 5-6” below the broiler unit. Place the gratin dishes on a baking sheet then put them under the broiler to melt the butter (1-2 minutes).

Once the butter has melted, remove the baking sheet from the oven and pour the eggs into the gratin dishes. Top the eggs with herbs, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper.

Place back in oven to broil for 4-6 minutes. Serve with toast.

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