How to cook Baked Eggs Florentine | DIY Style

JD

October 08, 2019

0

breakfast, egg-recipe, healthy-food

Almost any food is more appealing when it comes in a neatly packaged individual serving. This recipe re-imagines eggs Florentine, with its hearty spinach and creamy sauce, as a simple baked egg dish; no tricky
poaching or last-minute assembly required. To achieve the elegant ideal of a perfect-set-white, runny-yolk egg, we added raw eggs to preheated ramekins, ensuring that the egg whites cooked before the yolks had a
chance to lose their runniness. The spinach sauce, which we used to line each ramekin, provided a buffer between the eggs and the scorching ramekin walls. Use 6-ounce ramekins with 3¼-inch diameters, measured from the inner lip. It is imperative to remove the eggs from the oven just after the whites have turned opaque but are still jiggly— carryover cooking will finish the job. We developed this recipe using a
glass baking dish; if using a metal baking pan, reduce the oven temperature to 425 degrees.

Ingredients

• 10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup half-and-half
• 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup)
• Salt and pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon dry mustard
• ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• Vegetable oil spray
• 6 large eggs

Cooking Procedure

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees. Transfer thawed spinach to piece of cheesecloth and squeeze firmly to remove excess water.
2. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in half-and-half; bring mixture to boil, whisking constantly. Simmer, whisking frequently, until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in spinach, Parmesan, ¾ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, mustard, nutmeg, and cayenne.
3. Lightly spray six 6-ounce ramekins with oil spray. Evenly divide spinach filling among ramekins. Using back of spoon, push filling 1 inch up sides of ramekins to create ⅛-inch-thick layer. Shape remaining filling in bottom of ramekin into 1½-inch-diameter mound, then make a shallow indentation in center of mound large enough to hold yolk. Place filled ramekins in 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish. Bake until filling just starts to brown, about 7 minutes, rotating dish halfway through baking.
4. While filling is heating, crack eggs (taking care not to break yolks) into individual cups or bowls. Remove baking dish with ramekins from oven and place on wire rack. Gently pour eggs from cups into hot ramekins,
5. centering yolk in filling. Lightly spray surface of each egg with oil spray and sprinkle each evenly with pinch salt. Return baking dish to oven and bake until whites are just opaque but still tremble (carryover heat will cook whites through), 6 to 8 minutes, rotating dish halfway through baking.
6. Remove dish from oven and, using tongs, transfer ramekins to wire rack. Let stand until whites are firm and set (yolks should still be runny), about 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Baked Eggs Lorraine - Variation recipe

Slice white and green parts of 1 pound leeks thin and wash thoroughly. Cook 2 slices bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces, in medium saucepan over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towel–lined plate. Add leeks to pan and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer leeks to plate with bacon. Proceed with recipe, omitting shallot and reducing butter to 1 tablespoon. Substitute bacon and leek mixture for spinach and ½ cup shredded Gruyère cheese for Parmesan.

WHICH FROZEN VEGETABLES ARE BEST? Chef's Idea

Frozen vegetables can be a great option; besides being convenient, vegetables are often frozen at the peak of freshness. However, some vegetables freeze better than others. As a rule, vegetables with a lower moisture content generally freeze well, while their high moisture counterparts turn mushy and develop off-flavors. (High-moisture spinach is an exception because it doesn’t need to retain its shape in most cooked dishes.) Taking that into consideration, here are the frozen vegetables we like best, as well as the ones we don’t recommend.

First-Rate: Corn, Lima Beans, Pearl Onions, Peas, and Spinach

Frozen versions of these vegetables can even be preferable to fresh versions, depending on the season.

Acceptable in Some Situations: Broccoli, Carrots, Cauliflower, and Green Beans

These are acceptable options for soups, stews, and long-cooked dishes, where their less-than-crisp texture isn’t a factor. But we always prefer fresh when these vegetables are the main component of a dish.

Just Skip: Asparagus, Bell Peppers, Mushrooms, and Snow Peas

These high-moisture vegetables do not freeze well, and you should avoid them both on their own and in frozen vegetable medleys.