Funnily enough, this humble dish is how I discovered the world of foodblogging and was eventually led to starting my own. Having long lost any interest in the political debacles of my homeland (sad as this may seem, but I guess national politics here and even more so the outcome of the presidential elections in the US have far more relevance and impact on my life now), I tend to only browse through the food section of an Austrian newspaper (Der Standard) online - it always makes me laugh. Not only because the resident restaurant critic Florian Holzer can be very harsh with his criticism (and therefore reminds me of The Apologist sometimes), but because fellow readers comment on his reviews and are even more critical of his contributions... then readers comment on other readers' comments and it somehow all gets slightly out of hand. And if you know Austria, there's no beating around the bush either - slagging others off to elevate yourself is a favourite pastime.
This time Flo was mocking Austrian cafés for not knowing how to prepare oeufs cocotte (we call it "Ei im Glas", lit. "egg in a glass", so many establishments will serve just that, a soft boiled egg in a glass bowl) and I obviously wanted to get to the root of it all and searched and found... Chocolate & Zucchini and with it all those equally fabulous foodblogs out there. And I was hooked and eagerly joined the party!
Oeufs cocotte have since featured regularly on our weekend brunch menus, in various shapes and formats - wild mushroom, parmesan & thyme, tomato & bacon, spinach & ham... it basically depends on the leftovers we've got in the fridge. One favourite though is the very simple ham & cheese version, it never fails to please. Served with crusty ciabatta, I can hardly think of anything which would make getting out of bed on a Sunday more enticing!
Oeufs cocotte with ham and cheese
(yields 2 portions)
6 tbsp double cream
2 large eggs
4 thin slices top quality smoked bacon (I used Brunswick)
2 heaped tbsp grated Comté cheese (or Emmental, Gruyère etc)
salt, pepper
Butter two ramekin dishes and pour a tbsp of double cream into the base. Cut the ham into thin strips and add half of it to the ramekins. Add another tbsp of cream. Top with cheese, then carefully sit the egg on it, positioning the yolk in the centre. Spoon the remaining double cream around the yolk.
Heat the oven to 200 C and bring a pan of water to the boil. Place the ramekin dishes in an oven-proof dish, pour in the boiling water so it reaches at least half-way up the ramekins and place in the oven. Cook for 12-15 minutes, the eggwhite should have started to set and the yolk should still be very runny.
Serve immediately with some crusty ciabatta for dipping and mopping.
Soft eggs with meat and cream--wonderful word pictures and I can smell it, too. Sometimes the most everyday food is the very best.
Posted by: Carolyn | Dec 16, 2004 at 06:33 PM