Tom Kitchin's eggs en cocotte

En cocotte literally means cooked in a hot water bath, and it seems that giving eggs a good bath makes them even more delicious!

• Preparation: 20 mins
• Cooking: 20 mins
• Serves: 4

What you need:

Ingredients for the Mornay Sauce

• 60g butter
• 60g plain flour
• 1 litre milk
• 4 gratings of nutmeg
• Salt and pepper
• 100g Mull Cheddar, grated

 

• 100g button mushrooms
• 100g smoked streaky bacon
• 100g broad beans
• 250g fresh spinach
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• Salt
• 4 large British Lion eggs

What you do:

1. Mornay sauce: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and add the flour. Whisk over a low heat for 2-3 minutes until there are no lumps. Bring the milk to the boil with a little grated nutmeg and pour it over the cooked roux. Bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes, stirring gently. Season, pass through a sieve and stir in the grated cheese.
2. Vegetables and bacon: Wipe the mushrooms and cut them into quarters. Cut the bacon into 1cm batons and saute together with mushrooms for 3 or 4 minutes. Pod the broad beans and blanch them for 1 minute in boiling salted water. Refresh them in a bowl of iced water and then peel off the tough outer skins. Wash the spinach and dry on some paper towels. Heat the olive oil in a medium pan, add the spinach and a pinch of salt, and cook until the spinach is wilted.
3. Assembling the dish: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. You will need four ovenproof dishes. Place some spinach in each dish and cover with Mornay sauce. Crack an egg on top, sprinkle with broad beans and bacon, and season with salt and pepper. Put the dishes in a baking tin, pour in boiling water to come half way up the sides of the dishes and bake for 8-10 minutes. The egg yolks should still be soft.
4. Serve straight from the oven. The dishes will be piping hot, so place them on a plate.

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