We Americans have traditionally relegated eggs primarily to the breakfast table, but all that is quickly changing. Now, this high quality, low cost and delicious protein is more and more often what's for dinner as has alwaysbeen the case elsewhere in the world.
In France, for example, eggs find their way to lunch and dinner menus and are rarely served at breakfast.
The same is true in Italy. Order the classic Italian dish fettuccini carbonara and the pasta will arrive simple and glistening studded with crunchy and tender bits of pancetta. In the middle will be nestled a raw egg in it's own half shell. The egg will cook sufficiently when tossed into the pasta by the diner at the last moment, and the dish will never be smothered in the gloppy cream and flour concoction American diners have grown used to.
New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman, the Minimalist, notes that the egg is the cheapest form of complete protein you can find at about a dollar a pound. He dismisses concern about the safety of raw eggs for all but the elderly, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems. Bittman believes that Americans are opening up more and more to the idea of eating eggs at dinner and points as evidence of the trend to the increasing popularity on New York restaurant menus of another French contribution, Salade Lyonnaise which, in classic form, consists of greens, usually frisee, with bacon topped with a soft cooked egg.
Here is a slightly different version:
DINNER SALAD WITH POACHED EGG
Red lettuce, baby spinach, and arugula or dandelion greens torn into bite sized pieces
1 tablespoon per serving of pine nuts which have been toasted in a dry pan over medium heat until golden brown
Thin slices of red onion separated into rings
1 egg that has been poached in water or dry white wine for each salad to be served
Method:
Prepare simple vinaigrette with white wine vinegar, light olive oil and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, salt and fresh ground pepper. Arrange the greens and onion slices in individual salad bowls and toss with dressing. Sprinkle on the toasted pine nuts. Place a poached egg in center of each serving being careful not to break the yolk.
For a little added flair, garnish with the petals of any edible flower that is in season such as day-lilies, violets,nasturtiums or roses.
*
Celebrity chef Mario Battali at his flagship New York restaurant, Babbo, serves a dish consisting of fresh asparagus which has been steamed and then lightly sauted in hot olive oil and topped with salt, pepper, and an egg cooked sunny side up. To this he adds only a grating of fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
The classic breakfast omelet takes on a whole new personality in the evening when made with fines herbes and topped with crme fraiche and caviar. Wash it down with champagne or a sparkling Spanish cava.
Soft-boiled eggs also remain a favorite of gourmet cooks. In Paris, the bistro Chez Diane near the Luxembourg Gardens serves a rich and delicate dish featuring what some believe to be the king of all mushrooms, the morel.
SOFT COOKED EGGS WITH PUREED MORELS:
1 once dried morel mushrooms (widely available in grocery and specialty stores)
teaspoon butter
1 small shallot minced
3 tablespoons dry white wine
1 teaspoon tomato paste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
8 eggs
8 slices sandwich bread, toasted and cut into thin strips for dipping.
Method:
Soak the dried mushrooms in warm water to reconstitute for about an hour. Gently squeeze them dry in a kitchen towel and mince them finely.
In a small saucepan melt the butter over medium heat and saut the shallot until translucent. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Stir in morels, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about thirty minutes. Set the mixture aside and keep it warm.
Place eggs in a saucepan of boiling water and immediately reduce heat so that water is barely simmering. Cook the eggs for three minutes then remove them with a slotted spoon and run them under cold water to halt cooking.
Using a sharp knife cut off the tops of the eggs. Place two eggs per serving in egg cups and top with a generous spoonful of the mushroom mixture. Serve with slices of toast.
Hint: If you don't have egg cups, hollowed out slices of French baguettes work quite well and look quite elegant and appropriate.
As if first-rate dining were not enough reason to incorporate more eggs into your diet, models, actresses, and others who's job description requires keeping a photogenic profile have long eaten both hard boiled eggs and bananas as a way of staying slim. Both foods are low in calories (about 80 each) and each delivers it's own form of important nutrition.
Eating one or the other on alternating days about fifteen minutes before your principal meal will make you naturally less likely to consume heavy or fatty foods in excess. Better still, if you are truly focused on maintaining a healthy diet and a healthy weight, you will find your willpower has been supercharged making it far more likely that you will be able to stick to your meal plan.
To produce a perfectly tender hard-boiled egg, place your eggs in cold water over medium heat. As soon as the water begins to boil, turn off the heat. Remove the eggs when the water is completely cool.
The phonetic pronunciation of oeuf the French word for egg is "uff" A common memory trick taught to students of the French language is "an uff is an uff" Perhaps a better way to remember not just how the word is pronounce but why we should know how to find this prize on any French menu would be An oeuf is never enough!