Third instalment of my Six Nations of Food and it’s coming all the way from France, I’ve made my take on Rachel Khoo’s Oeufs en Cocotte which is Baked Eggs, a recipe she featured on her “Little Paris Kitchen”, you can find the original recipe by visiting the BBC Website. This recipe follows on from my Italian Mediterranean Chicken and Toad in the Hole with Onion Gravy and Champ. I’ve been waiting to make this for a while so here goes.
The Recipe
You could make this recipe with just Crème Fraîche, the added extras are just to add flavour, Rachel Khoo uses dill but I’ve added the Cayenne Pepper for a bit of a kick. You’ll need to preheat the oven to 1800c.
Place a heaped table spoon of the Crème Fraîche in the bottom of a ramekin; I’m making two pots with a Table Spoon in each.
Next add as much Dill and Cayenne Pepper as you like, you can leave the Cayenne Pepper out if you want to. I’d advise you to mix the dill and Cayenne through the Crème Fraîche to evenly distribute flavour…. not like I did the first time I made the recipe.
Next crack the egg on top of the Crème Fraîche, you’ll notice one yolk is in the middle and one isn’t. The best way to get the yolk in the middle is to give the egg a shake before breaking it.
Next add another layer of Crème Fraîche to each pot and season with salt and pepper. If I was going to make this again I wouldn’t add the last layer of Crème Fraîche, I’ll explain why later
Place in a Bain Marie (that’s a baking tray with luke warm water poured around the ramekins until it comes halfway up. Place in an oven and cook for 15 minutes or until the egg is cooked to your liking. Remember when cooking eggs it is important to adhere to safety guidelines to avoid salmonella bacteria read here for more information.
When they are ready take them out of the oven, as you may notice I’ve slightly overcooked them here, that’s only because I undercooked the egg the last time I cooked this practicing for this post…. I know I’m a tool 😆
Take the ramekins off the baking tray and place on a plate; this recipe is ideal to be served as a quick and easy, yet luxury breakfast over the bank holiday, or as a simple supper. I’ve got to say I’m not a massive fan of crème fraîche, Rachel Khoo on her post on the BBC Food Website says it can be replaced with Béchamel or Mornay Sauce, I think I’d go for a Béchamel Sauce next time.
You can also add finely chopped mushrooms, ham, smoked salmon or cherry tomatoes after the crème fraîche. If you don’t like dill you could use parsley, basil or coriander. If you don’t have Cayenne Pepper you can use Tabasco sauce.
To say this recipe wasn’t my favourite is unfair, it had potential and I’ll definitely work on it to perfect it, I’d add the Béchamel Sauce and maybe some parsley. I wouldn’t add the second scoop of Crème Fraîche/ Béchamel Sauce I’ll just leave the egg on top with some salt and pepper, that way you can see when it’s cooked easily.
I will be back with a Time-Saving Tuesdays review this week I promise, and then I’ll end the week (because my diet ends then) with Scotch Pancakes and Welsh Cakes, completing my 6 Nations f food. Remember, you can get in touch; you can visit our social media pages below, or subscribe to the blog for regular updates.
This is my 50th recipe, in the Recipe category, I’ve written other recipes that come in to other categories like our Microwaveable Tomato Risotto and our Asda Meatballs and a Quick and Easy Tomato Sauce but this is our 50th straight recipe!
See you Tuesday
