Like Eating a Cloud

Eggs Orsini

I love collecting old cookbooks as I always stumble on something I have never heard of before, such as this dish. It’s Eggs Orsini and despite their not very French sounding name, they were in one of my books on dishes cooked at Claude Monet’s home in Arles. I bought the book for the stunning photos of the home, his legendary kitchen and the grounds and stayed for the wonderfully simple recipes like this one.

After I posted this, a number of people called them Cloud Eggs and said that they went viral during the pandemic. I hadn’t started my cooking social media accounts at that stage, nor was I even on Tiktok so I sadly didn’t see them back then. But here they are now. They are light as a feather, beautifully savory and a perfect brunch or light lunch. I tweaked the recipe slightly from my video in order to give them perfectly runny yolks.

Today is also Episode 1 of Coco’s Crush List. These are all the items I am crushing on. There are items I have newly discovered and items that I have been using for years. They are things that I love and currently can’t live without. The Crush List is at the bottom of the Newsletter.

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

3 eggs, separated

1/2 teaspoon Maldon salt, divided

1/4 teaspoon butter

1/4 cup grated sharp white cheddar - not packed down

Method

Preheat the oven to 300° F convection.

Separate the eggs, placing the whites in a mixing bowl. Keep each yolk in a half shell and put them each back in the egg carton to wait. If you can gently remove the white string from the yolk, do so. I could easily do this on 2 of my eggs but not the 3rd. It’s not worth breaking a yolk over and wasting it so if you can remove it great, but don’t worry if you can’t. Now place the egg yolks with their carton lid open, into the fridge for 30 minutes. This will allow the yolks to cool enough so that they remain runny during the cooking.

Add 1/4 teaspoon Maldon to the egg whites and proceed to whisk them until stiff peaks form. I did it by hand and it took around 5 minutes.

Butter a terrine dish or large ramekin. Then scoop the egg whites into the terrine dish. Spread the egg whites in a thin even layer. Form three indentations in the frothy whites with the back of a spoon. Note: I tried making an indentation with an actual egg and they wouldn’t stay, so use the spoon. After the yolks have chilled for 30 minutes, place one yolk–very carefully!--into each depression. Do not break the yolks! Then sprinkle with the remaining salt. Finally scatter the grated cheese over the top of everything.

Then into the preheated oven for 12 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown and puffed like a soufflé. The time depends on your oven. You want the yolks to remain runny so that you can dunk your toast soldiers in them. In my little oven, you will be closer to 12 minutes. But a big oven starting checking at the 12 minute mark and go from there. The whites will rise and and puff up beautifully but they will sink rather quickly. So have your toast points ready and table set so you can serve immediately from the oven.

This is a really fun dish and I love a new way to eat eggs. They are savory and the runny yolks steal the show. It’s perfect for a lazy Saturday morning when you want something a little more special than your regular scrambled or sunny side up eggs.

Enjoy!

xx Corre

*****The Inaugural Crush List *******

1. Estrattu di Pomodoro - literally tastes just like the homemade version from the daily market in Sicily. It’s not cheap… but it’s cheaper than a flight to Sicily.

2. Les Pres Sales Butter - my Dad introduced me to this marble French butter years ago and it’s unlike anything else

3. The Beast Mini Blender - got myself one for Christmas and I haven’t touched my Vitamix since. It’s the perfect size and super powerful. They don’t call it The Beast for nothing.

4. SPRWMN Hoodie - I live in these. Both the hoodies and the crew necks. I have had some for years and they don’t pile like other sweatshirts. They last forever.