Sunday 15 February 2015

Glass Act!

Uova in Bicchiere con Dragoncello & Ciliegini
Coddled Eggs with Tarragon & Cherry Tomatoes

 

Breakfast time! And as nice as it is to start the day with something sweet, especially around carnival time, when there are so many yummy pastries about, I decided to make something healthy and light instead... That's the kind of wild and crazy guy I am!

I absolutely love coddled eggs, but don't often think to make them, which is a real shame! What a fun way to serve up your breakfast eggs and a great way to add good flavor to them!


 

A great heard to add to egg dishes is tarragon, with that hint of aniseed flavor and pungent freshness- great in combination with fresh tomato as well- and so, being as I had both in the fridge, what could have been a more simple or better idea this morning?!


You can't get any more basic than this- an egg each, 2-3 cherry tomatoes each, a little fresh tarragon, salt, pepper and a drop of olive oil... and you'll be amazed at how tasty the result is! Add a little crunchy bread and you have a wonderful breakfast, right there in that little glass in just 15 minutes!

 

It's all there, cooked, poached, steamed or whatever you may call it... all together, with all of the flavor trapped in and waiting to be unleashed when you remove the lid! Another absolute case of less being more!


If you don't have egg coddler's, I guess you could also use a small glass or cup and cover the top with foil to prevent any steam from escaping- that is the main thing- the egg-coddler is basically a mini pressure-cooker- and one that you can serve your egg up in too!

 

I started my version off by brushing the coddlers with just a little olive oil and then sprinkling them with salt and pepper, just to make sure that the other ingredients are well seasoned.

 
 
I then lined the bottom of the glass with the cherry tomatoes- my tip is to use the end pieces for the base and the slices around the outsides. Add a little tarragon, season with salt and pepper, add another couple of drops of olive oil and you are ready to add the eggs.


Now simply crack the eggs carefully on top, add a few more leaves of tarragon, a little more salt and pepper, then put on the lids (or foil) and pop them into a saucepan with enough boiling water to coat them a little more than 3/4 of the way up.


Once the water is boiling, reduce to a rolling simmer and boil away with the lid on top for 10-15 minutes, depending on how firm you like your yolks!

 
 
They will take just a little longer than regular boiled eggs, as the heat of course needs to travel through the glass AND the tomatoes, before the eggs start to cook- but mine, as you can see, have waxy-firm yolks that are still just a little runny at the center- and they took 10-11 minutes. Consider also, that they will continue to cook in the residual heat of the glass even after you serve them up.

 

It's simple- it's delicious... and it's also enough! Well- if you eat 2 of them like I did it is anyway! Haha!

 

All kidding aside- you can obviously cook 2 or more in one glass as long as they fit! You can also beat the eggs and add herbs and seasonings to them as well, as I have done in other recipes in the past... but however you prepare them, they are so nice served this way! And I hope you like them!

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