Go and cook an egg... And if, finally, we took this popular formula literally?
What if we fully savored the moment when this egg, so everyday, so obvious and domestic, became a delicacy?
This is the invitation launched by Valéry Drouet with his book
Histoires d'œufs.
Soft, hard, poached, boiled, fried, stewed... The author, who nevertheless took four years to convince a publisher to embark on a book highlighting this inexpensive product, a source of protein and that we always have in the fridge, book 50 recipes to make real dishes that come out of the ordinary.
Read alsoFreshness, preservation, cooking... Six persistent myths around eggs
In video, how to cook a soft-boiled egg?
Madame Figaro.– What makes you salivate in the bud?
Valéry Drouet.–
I love the egg because it goes into the preparation of many recipes including pastries, but also because in a few minutes, it allows you to concoct a dish and even, very often, an amazing dish. .
Besides these qualities, I especially like the taste of the yolk, this fatty side compensated by a certain finesse.
It's not for nothing that chefs have put the perfect egg which makes it possible to magnify the yolk on their menus and have thus made it a gastronomic ingredient.
At home, cooking the perfect egg isn't easy, unless you have a Thermomix.
But it doesn't matter, because boiled eggs,
Which cooking do you prefer?
Molten, without a doubt.
This cooking lends itself to all sorts of original and surprising preparations: in a crust of parmesan, meat, hazelnuts and herbs… The soft-boiled egg is also perfect in salads, with a garlic cream.
But I also love the boiled egg.
With dippers, it's simple and delicious.
And of course, I always succumb to the hard-boiled egg, mimosa or mayonnaise, perfectly cooked with a translucent yolk: these are two great classics that I never tire of.
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Valéry Drouet Photo Pierre Louis Viel/Hachette Kitchen
Perfect marriages?
For me, eggs go perfectly with fresh herbs with slightly aniseed notes such as tarragon and chervil.
A sabayon flavored in this way is perfect for an egg Benedict.
And because I also love tradition, the red wine meurette sauce is a must.
Obviously, you need good eggs... How do you recognize them?
Impossible to recognize a good egg by eye.
The shell reflecting nothing of the quality of the yolk and white.
On the other hand, it is recommended to read the code affixed to it.
The first number lets you know what types of chicken farms the egg comes from.
The 0 corresponds to organic farming, meaning hens raised in the open air and fed with 90% organic food – these are the eggs that should be chosen first.
Number 1 corresponds to farms where the hens live between the outside and buildings, where they each have 4 m2 for themselves.
It is still acceptable.
On the other hand, the number 2 is that attributed to farms where the hens which live at 9 – on average – on a surface of 1 m2 never see the light.
Finally, the 3 rhymes with darkness and a cage the size of
a sheet of paper… Absolutely to be avoided.
The letters that follow indicate the provenance.
We prefer the mention FR (for France).
On the next line is indicated the best before date.
Then come the sizes - S, M, L and XL - as for clothing.
And if there is any doubt about the freshness, the egg is plunged into water.
If it sinks, it is consumable;
if it floats, it is better not to eat it.
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You also give recipes with only the white or the yolks…
Very often, when you make a mousse, a sauce, a cake…, you don't use all of the egg.
There are still whites or yellows.
However, it is not possible to throw them away!
You might as well concoct a good little dish in addition, such as a salad of crispy whites with herbs and seeds, marinated egg yolks back from Asia, a salad of half-cooked egg yolks with crispy bacon and meat juice … In the egg, nothing is lost.
Not even the shell, which ends up in the compost.