“Eggsellent”

We’re excited to spend an entire tutorial examining one of the greatest ingredients out there – the egg.

You will need:
Eggs
White wine vinegar
Salt
Pepper
For the baked eggs:
400g Mushrooms, sliced
100g Pancetta or bacon lardons
4 tablespoons of double cream
2 eggs
Grated parmesan cheese

Scramble:

Crack your eggs into a bowl
Always wash you hands as soon as you’ve finished handling the raw egg
Add a decent pinch of salt
Use a fork to pierce the yolks, then whip it lightly
Get a pan ready on a medium heat and pour in a glug of oil
Pour into the pan and use a whisk or spoon, not to whisk them, but just to keep them moving
This scramble cooks really fast, so don’t walk away from it – this took us about 90 seconds
We suggest a twist of black pepper when the eggs are about halfway cooked
We added a touch of truffle oil because the flavours compliment each other so beautifully, but this is not at all necessary for a delicious scramble
If you want to add some chives or other chopped herbs, now is the time.
Give it another stir, and once the liquid stops collecting in the pan, remove from the heat and serve

Poached egg:

Fill your pan with water about 3/4 of the way up, then bring to a gentle boil – somewhere just above simmering point.
Add the vinegar beforehand – two tablespoons of white wine vinegar will do for a pan this size
Gently add the egg, dropping it in from just above the water level, not from a height
These should only need two and a half to three minutes for the white to cook through, leaving the centre of the yolk hot but beautifully runny
To test it, lift out of the water with a skimmer and gently prod the yolk
There should be some resistance, but also some give, indicating softness on the inside
Remove gently from the pan and place on a couple of sheets of kitchen paper, to soak up the water

Baked eggs:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade, then start with a glug of oil, in a pan on a high heat
Add the mushrooms firsthand a pinch of salt
Once they’re starting to colour, add the pancetta
Let them fry for about two minutes, giving them time to caramelise and stirring occasionally so they cook evenly and turn golden
Spread onto a kitchen towel to drain off excess oil, then get a ramekin ready on a baking tray
Spoon in the mushroom and pancetta, and crack the egg on top
Pour on two or three tablespoons of double cream, and add a twist of black pepper and a little grated cheese

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes – you can easily check whether its ready by giving the tray a little shake. Once its only the yolk which wobbles, it’s done
Obviously these need to cool down for a minute or so before service.