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Hello hello and happy almost weekend, my dudes! Coming at you with another cooking segment today.
I did not know what protein to eat this week, because I did chicken last week and fish does not keep well, and then I thought of eggs. They are protein-packed, delicious, and have a long life in the fridge, so there's nothing to worry about there. I am comfortable cooking eggs too, since they are so easy, so it was an all-around win.
I decided I wanted to do something a little different though, and then, because I had fresh bread and green beans and it all seemed very French countryside to me, I decided : soft-boiled eggs. Why not?
Well. I have never before in my life made soft-boiled eggs, and I have very rarely even gotten to eat them, so maybe there were a lot of reasons why not.
Try convincing me of that though. The thought of a creamy white surrounding a runny yolk became firmly embedded in my brain and there was no turning back. I was off and running.
To start, you have to understand I made green bean gremolata on Sunday night as my vegetable of the week, so I was basing my meal off a vegetable rather than a meat. This might be backwards from how we usually plan meals, but it worked for me. Especially because, these beans are so simple and so delicious, they deserved their moment to shine.
Making them involves one of my favorite ways to cook any vegetable: drizzling olive oil in a saute pan and letting the veggies sizzle.
Firstly though, I had to blanch the beans. This is easy enough, as all I had to do was boil some water in a medium pot and then dunk a pound of washed and trimmed green beans in the water for four to six minutes, until they were bright green and still crisp. From the pot, I poured the beans into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process immediately. No soggy beans allowed, thank you very much.
While the beans chilled out, I mixed half a cup of feta, a tablespoon of chopped parsley, two tablespoons of lemon juice, two tablespoons of toasted pignoli, and freshly ground black pepper and Kosher salt to taste. This is the gremolata part of the dish, and this is what makes the meal. I absolutely adore every dish that involves pignoli I have ever tasted, no exceptions here.
Once the gremolata was evenly mixed, I poured Extra Virgin olive oil into a pan and threw in the drained green beans, tossing them to coat and crisp for about three minutes. Toasted pignoli with a little bit of an olive oil saute and bam! I'm in heaven.
It occurred to me that an assured way to upgrade that further was to get some egg yolk dripping over the green beans, and that is when the soft-boiled egg yolks came into play. All well and good, but I did not know what I was doing, so I had to turn to Google, which led me to a Bon Appetit article. Bon Appetit is my go-to food magazine so I decided to trust them. Kind of a risk for a Wednesday night dinner when I was hungry before I even got the pot on the stove - I did not have a well-formed back-up plan if the eggs did not turn out - but my vision for dinner overrode any doubts. Once the water was at a good boil, I gently placed two eggs, one at a time, in the water with a slotted spoon, then left them to cook for exactly six and a half minutes. I set a timer and everything because one thing I know is, there is no messing around when it comes to soft-boiled eggs, and I had no interest in ruining my dinner. I was a little bit bummed because one of the eggs cracked when it broke the surface of the hot water - I guess it had not warmed enough in the time I had it sitting on the counter. Still, it was also kind of cool to see the egg white seep out a bit and bubble before quickly cooking and setting into egg white cylinders.
After those six and a half minutes, I put the eggs in ice water to for exactly two minutes, which I also timed. That is what the recipe said, and that is the one step I would like to find an alternative to. I understand you need to stop the eggs from cooking as soon as they are out of the water, so the yolk does not set too hard, but by the time I ate them they were cool. I definitely ate soft-boiled eggs at home once, stuffed into a tea mug with toasted bread, my mom's creation, and they were perfectly cooked and running and still warm. That's key. There has got to be a way to get both, and I would appreciate any tips on how to do so.
Anyway, once the two minutes were up (during which time I was sauteeing the beans), I gently tapped the eggs with a knife and peeled back the shell. Once I sliced them in half, I saw that I had indeed been successful! The outer yolk was firm but squishy and the yolk was thick and runny.
I was really proud of myself for getting it right, you guys, I have to admit. My heart swelled.
Alternating bites with the olive oil-encrusted green beans and lightly toasted and buttered semolina slices, I could not even pick a preference. The hot yolk soaked into the bread beautifully, and it complemented the crispy-sweet vegetable dish just as well. I have a feeling I am going to be making these all the time now. I might try it with roasted asparagus too. Mmmm.
If I closed my eyes, I could picture myself eating in a little cottage in the middle of a field in the French country side. The only thing missing was a glass of crisp white wine. Being French is always my goal, so as you can imagine, I was extraordinarily pleased with this. Quelle parfait!.
I should definitely hit up my mom on how to get a perfectly runny but still warm yolk though. I know she is reading this now and shaking her head, wondering why I did not ask her in the first place. Honestly, I am wondering the same. It was spur of the moment! I panicked and next thing you know the eggs were in the jacuzzi already and it was too late. I'm soooorry, Mom!
Anyway, go out and have a great weekend! My plans involve some hot dinner reservations, so I can't wait to report back to you guys next week. Fingers crossed for a review with five kisses coming soon!
XX,
MK
Update: Mama Magee said the two minute ice bath is unnecessary. Simply remove from the hot water, allow to sit out about thirty seconds so they can cool just a bit to touch, peel, and enjoy!
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