Every year, as a kindly new year’s resolution, I like to treat myself to something new. Most resolutions involve self-improvement which can be translated as ‘do better and you’ve got only a year to do it’, whereas treating yourself to something within the space of 12 months is merely a test of your own generosity.
Now, when I say I treat myself, I’m not talking about a holiday to Hawai’i or anything, or even buying a new wardrobe. Mostly it involves buying food. And even that has its limits as it usually means going to the supermarket, not even a fashionable farmers’ market (one day, I’ll upgrade - that can be my treat for 2024.)
On the scale of fun, going to the supermarket doesn’t even make an appearance. Yet if you know you’re going to treat yourself to an ingredient you’ve been longing to see in your kitchen cupboards for god-knows how long, then its rating flies all the way up to 10 right alongside mini-breaks and white-water rafting.
Last year my treat was Comte, although rather annoyingly it was always running out so I had to keep buying more. Therefore this year, my treat is something long-lasting so that every time I open my kitchen cupboard it’s still there, causing me a little frisson of delight. This year, my treat is truffle oil.
The aim is to choose something that should be used sparingly so then you lengthen out the pleasure, not only as part of a meal but also your kitchen cupboards look the better for it, it’s almost as if all the bottles of soy sauce and packets of pasta are proud to have a new unique and classy creature in their midst.
And as for truffle oil - well, what can’t it do? At my first restaurant job, we served chunky chips tossed in parmesan and a little truffle oil. At the Italian restaurant I took Gaylord for his birthday, the scent of truffle oil lingered in the air and Gaylord ate a saucepan of pasta (their preferred vehicle rather than a plate) mixed with cream, ham, truffle shavings and a splash of truffle oil.
Truffle oil is the escape to a Tuscan utopia for those of us who can’t afford real truffles which go for a pretty penny at those local farmers’ markets. And to me it might as well be liquid gold, my oil cabinet doesn’t get a lot of action usually. I drizzled my precious treat over coddled eggs and creamy mushrooms, the truffle flavour harmonising the dish and elevating it to a new level of lunch indulgence.
Coddled eggs, or in French, oeufs en cocotte, are eggs cracked into ramekins and baked in a water bath until the whites have just set and the yolks remain runny. Often the French recipe involves plenty of cream and cheese, preferably Gruyere, and maybe a slice of ham. We ate this at our friends’ Antoine and Elodie’s dinner party where Antoine very casually rustled up three courses, the starter being creamy oeufs en cocotte and the dessert was the most beautiful, pristine tarte aux pommes - do the French have pastry making in their blood or something?
Inspired by Antoine’s cooking prowess, I tackled the easier of the two recipes - the eggs. Instead, I cracked the eggs on top of mushrooms quickly cooked with garlic and fresh thyme and mixed with a little ricotta - an Italian interpretation all to cater to the main attraction.
With the eggs softly set, the yolks jiggling gently like water balloons ready to burst, I sprinkled over chopped chives and a mere drizzle of truffle oil. The coddled eggs are simply a stage you see. The truffle oil is the show’s star.
Coddled eggs with truffle and ricotta mushrooms
A quick yet rather spectacular breakfast, brunch or lunch - softly baked eggs on a bed of creamy mushrooms, all drizzled with truffle oil.
Of course, if you don’t have truffle oil or if you simply don’t like it, don’t worry - these eggs are delicious without!
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Breakfast, Brunch
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: eggs, mushrooms, ricotta, thyme, truffle oil
Servings: 2
Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil
3 large mushrooms
1 large sprig of thyme
1 clove of garlic
2 tbsp ricotta
2 eggs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
A drizzle of truffle oil
Chopped chives to garnish
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F. Heat the oil in a frying pan and chop the mushrooms into slices. Once the oil is hot, add the mushrooms, season with a little salt and fry for a couple of minutes until they release some moisture. Shred the leaves off the thyme sprig and crush the garlic - add both to the pan and sauté with the mushrooms for a minute then remove from the heat.
Tip the mushrooms into a bowl and stir in the ricotta, plus a pinch of salt and pepper. Spoon the mushrooms into two ramekins and make a small indent in the centre.
Boil the kettle and place a high-sided baking dish close to the oven.
Crack the eggs into the small hole in the mushroom filling - be careful as the yolk can easily split! I speak from experience.
Pour the boiling water from the kettle into the baking dish - it should reach under halfway up the sides. Carefully transfer the ramekins to the dish. There shouldn’t be too much water that the ramekins are submerged! It just needs to cover half the ramekin. Slowly transfer the dish to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes. Towards the end of cooking, check the eggs frequently. Jiggle the dish to see if the white has set - if it ripples, it needs longer. Once it looks firm yet with a little bit of movement, the eggs are ready.
Remove the baking dish from the oven and take the ramekins out of the water. Set on plates and garnish with chives and a little truffle oil. Serve with lots of crusty bread.
Delightful choice of that little 'extra' ! In Australia I do not use truffle oil - too many 'winks' as that not being the 'real thing' ! What the world has no reason to realize Down Under now produces more truffles than France . . . and that of a very high quality tho' certainly not cheap . . .I have half-a-dozen truffle farms within two hours' drive, so . . .
Sounds gorgeous! I actually have an egg coddler that was given to me as a child - must get it out now!
BTW - re pantry items - I was at an 'in conversation with' evening last night with Ottolenghi. He talked about how he loves to go to shops and buy ingredients just to have and experiment with. I know that feeling so well - why did I buy dried nectarines recently? - and I am sure you do too. I have a small bottle of truffle oil too....now to get it out and make some eggs!