Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Deviled Eggs

A classic! How could I not have a recipe for this when we've got chickens!

6 large eggs
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 to 2 dashes Tabasco sauce, to taste
Salt, to taste (I never add it because the mustard and mayo is enough)
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp snipped fresh chives
3 Tbsps mayonnaise
Paprika, for garnish
  1. Rinse eggs with warm water, and place in a small saucepan. Cover with cold water, place the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Turn off heat, cover and let sit for 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water and peel. Cool in the refrigerator, loosely covered, for 15 minutes.
  2. Halve eggs lengthwise, and carefully scoop out yolks. Place yolks in a bowl, and mash with a fork. Add mustard, Tabasco, salt, pepper and snipped chives. Stir in mayonnaise.
  3. Fill each egg white with about 1½ teaspoons of the egg-yolk mixture and dust the top with paprika. 

Monday, February 20, 2017

Fried Egg Pesto Pasta

It's all about the timing which makes it a bit tricky. I finally got it right, and it's really all about getting the pan off the heat at the right time - when the yolks are still runny and glistening.

1 lb dry pasta
2 Tbsps olive oil
¼ tsp crushed red pepper, or to taste
Pinch of salt
¾ cup (6oz/170g) + (42g) ¼ cup pesto
6 eggs
  1. The watchword for this recipe is 'timing'. Things need to be lined up just right for the recipe to work, otherwise you get scrambled egg pasta instead of a silky pesto sauce.
  2. Cook pasta with a pinch of salt until just al dente. This is important because overdone pasta will be too soft and break easily.
  3. Get a large serving plate ready.
  4. Break the eggs into a bowl and set aside.
  5. When the pasta is cooked, heat the oil in a pan and when very hot add the crushed pepper and the pinch of salt.
  6. Add the cooked pasta and pour over the ¾ cup pesto. Mix well by tossing and get the pesto nice and hot.
  7. Pour the eggs over the hot noodles and leave to start cooking, giggling the pan a bit to get the whites down into the noodles.
  8. When the whites start to form, take the pan off the heat source and break the yolks with a wooden spoon or spatula, and quickly mix up the contents to fold the frying pasta over the eggs.  Mix quickly to distribute the egg and allow the whites to cook a bit in the residual heat, but do not leave long enough to let the yolks cook.
  9. Immediately slide onto a large plate and pour over the remaining ¼ cup of pesto, and  and serve. The egg should be soft and creamy.