You may notice a trend in these Breakfast sections: Eggs. I make sure I always buy a box over the weekend because I know that if at least have eggs in the house I can whip up a decent weekend breakfast or brunch – because lets face it I’m hardly up early enough on a Saturday to legitimately call it anything less.
My standard go-to breakfast is normally boiled eggs & soldiers which surely remind everyone of their childhood and is quite possibly one of the easiest things to make (The rumour is that anyone can boil an egg).
Now I know boiling an egg is hardly at the height of culinary skills but I am often surprised how sometimes the easiest things are what some people struggle with (myself included). To me, perfect boiled eggs depends on 3 things:
How I like my eggs cooked.
The temperature of the eggs before cooking.
The quality of the eggs.
How I like my eggs cooked
I like a firm white & a soft runny yolk (I assume that’s pretty standard?). I wont argue with others over cooking times but when cooking 4 eggs at a time (2 for each of us) what works for me is:
Large eggs = 4mins 25secs.
Medium/small eggs = 4mins.
This is based on the pan of water already at a rolling boil before I add the eggs. Set the timer & remove immediately afterwards.
Temperature of the eggs before cooking
I never keep eggs in the fridge and I have never experienced a problem with freshness. I find most things which include eggs (particularly baking) require the eggs to be at room temperature anyway so I see little point in storing them in the fridge.When boiling eggs in their shells, if they are fridge cold to start with, the shell is more likely to crack. This can be overcome by squeezing a little lemon juice into the pan of water before adding the eggs. The acid in the lemon causes any white which may escape to coagulate instantly thus not seeping out into the water and ruining the whole operation.
Quality of the eggs
I specifically buy free-range organic eggs and if I cant get them, I just don’t buy eggs. Ever since I cooked regular eggs alongside an organic free range one and noticed the difference in taste, appearance & flavour, I have never looked back. I would rather spend a little more money on a good product & get less than vice versa.
My favourites at the moment are Clarence Court and Posh Eggs which I can usually get from my local supermarkets. They come in regular brown and pretty pastel blue shells and also do duck eggs (which I find good for baking).
Both these brands have a fantastically rich sunny yellow yolks which when used for custard, cakes, pancake & Yorkshire pudding batters just help give it a lovely rich colour.
Clarence Court Eggs: Brown & Blue shells
Boiled Eggs & Soldiers
I can assure you I haven’t lost all inspiration this week and tried to pull off a recipe for boiled eggs & soldiers. This is just one of my favourite breakfasts with few wee tips alongside.
Boiled eggs & soldiers for dipping
Fill up a pot with boiled water from the kettle & place over a medium heat. Squeeze some lemon juice into the water & when the water is bubbling add the eggs (I use a spaghetti server or a slotted spoon) & set the timer.Meanwhile toast the bread and leave it to stand a little before buttering to keep it crisp. When the eggs are cooked, remove from the pot & pop into egg cups with the pointed end facing up. Butter the toast & cut into soldiers.
Serve with a knife to remove the tops and a teaspoon for eating. I am also partial to a little salt for sprinkling into the egg before each dunk. If you have one, pop an egg cosy on top of the 2nd egg to keep toasty warm.
Alternatives?
The same concept as boiled eggs really but rather than cooking the egg in its shell (and faffing around with timers & boiling water) they are cooked in oiled ramekins or shallow teacups as Rachel Khoo suggests but still retain all that toast dunking fun.
Baked Eggs
This recipe is essentially Rachel Khoo’s ‘Oeffs en Cocotte’ (eggs in pots I believe?) from The Little Paris Kitchen. I will often make this for lunch or dinner when home alone and not particularly hungry.
Heat the oven to 180C. Drizzle a little oil into a ramekin (or a shallow teacup) & spread it all over the bottom & sides to coat. Crack 2 eggs inside & add 1tbsp of crème fraiche. Grind some pepper over the top and add a little sprinkling of salt.
2 eggs & 2 dollops of creme fraiche
Place on a baking tray & cook for 10-15mins until the egg white has formed but the yolk is still soft and runny. Serve with buttered toast for dunking & a teaspoon for eating.Et voila! Breakfast is cooked in the same amount of time it takes to get showered & the coffee to brew.
Jazz it up a little
Baked Eggs & Ham
Do the same as above but after oiling the ramekin line it with a little cooked ham. Make sure the ham doesn’t come up over the egg since it will burn in the oven. So tuck these overhanging bits into the dish.
Pancetta Eggs
Add some crispy fried pancetta cubes to the bottom of the ramekin before cracking in the eggs.
Asparagus Dunkers (and Parma Ham)
Substitute toast with asparagus spears which have been steamed (or boiled) for 2mins. Wrap in parma ham. Dunk away.
