Coddled Eggs, mushrooms & cream . . .

Frederic Thevenet of Restaurant Aux Lyonnais uses garlic three different ways to build depth of flavor in this dish of eggs, spinach, and mushrooms gently baked in a luxurious bath of cream.

 

SERVES 4

 

Ingredients . . .

3⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic

4 tbsp. unsalted butter

8 oz. spinach, stemmed

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

8 oz. chanterelle or cremini mushrooms, quartered

1⁄3 cup heavy cream

4 eggs

1 baguette, cut on the diagonal into 3" x 1⁄2" slices and toasted

 

Instructions . . .

    Make the garlic confit: heat oil in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium-low heat. Add 2 cloves garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is tender, 15–20 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer garlic to a cutting board; let cool. Thinly slice garlic confit lengthwise. (Reserve oil for another use, such as making vinaigrettes or poaching fish.)

     Poke 1 remaining garlic clove with the tines of a fork; set aside. Melt 2 tbsp. butter in a 12" skillet over medium heat until foamy. Add spinach and cook, stirring occasionally with fork used to poke the garlic (to perfume the spinach), until tender, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer spinach to center of a tea towel and wipe out skillet. Gather up ends of towel and squeeze out excess liquid; set spinach aside.

    Melt remaining butter in skillet over medium heat. Add remaining garlic clove and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add heavy cream and cook 5 minutes more. Remove pan from heat, cover, and let mushrooms steep for 15 minutes. Discard garlic.

    Heat oven to 400°. Divide the spinach and mushroom mixture between four 6-oz. ramekins. Add reserved slices of garlic confit. Crack 1 egg into each ramekin. Transfer ramekins to a 9" x 13" baking pan and pour enough boiling water into pan to come halfway up the side of the ramekins. Cover pan with aluminum foil and transfer to oven; cook until whites are set and yolks are still runny, about 10 minutes. meanwhile, rub pierced garlic clove over toasted baguettes slices. To serve, arrange ramekins and toasted baguettes on 4 plates, and season eggs with salt and pepper.

 

Source, Saveur, October 2010