Eggs en Cocotte

Eggs en cocotte, sounds sorta fancy, huh? But it’s really nothing more than baked eggs.

It’s a simple dish you can quickly throw together, even for a large crowd.

The best part is you can make it any way you want. I usually make mine with chanterelles or porcinis for their strong flavor and then accompany it with some wilted greens or with broccolini, as you see in the pictures. The rest of the family here likes theirs with crumbled sausage and a little cheese. See what I mean about it being highly adaptable?

In fact this holiday season, if I have overnight guests, I’m totally going to make a breakfast bar out of this idea. How fun would that be? Forget omelette bars, this is so much easier.  Everyone can throw what they want into a dish; crack an egg on it, then into the oven it goes and 15 minutes later—done. Breakfast served for a large crowd all at the same time.

And yes, I realize summer only just began and discussions about bikinis and sandals might be more appropriate, but June and July  is when I start shopping and squirreling away Christmas gifts. It’s about the only thing I’m ever ahead of schedule with.

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Eggs en Cocotte

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 2  tablespoons butter,
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• salt and pepper
• 6 eggs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 broccolini bunch, blanched
• 6 oz. chanterelles
• 1 tablespoons thyme
• 3 large sage leaves, chiffonade
• 1 shallot, minced

Directions:

Preparation: Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

1. Butter 6 small bowls (or six 6 0z. ramekins) and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Pour a scant tablespoon of cream into each ramekin; set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a small saute pan  over medium high heat and add in chanterelles, thyme and sage. Cook until chanterelles are tender, about 3-5 minutes. Evenly divide mixture between 6 bowls and crack one egg on top of each bowl.
3. Place bowls in a baking dish, and pour water into baking dish until it is halfway up the sides of the bowl. Transfer baking dish to oven, being careful not to let the water splash into the bowls. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until whites are set and the yolk is still soft.