Tuesday 1 November 2011

An easy, almost instant, supper: Baked eggs with wild mushrooms & cream


Gosh, what a long day in the kitchen I've had. Today signalled the first photography shoot for my new book Soup! and as such I have cooked and styled 11 different soup recipes today, with the prospect of another 10 to do on day 2 tomorrow. To say I'm a bit tired would be an understatement......


No matter how tired you might be, the eternal question raises its daily head: what's for supper? With numerous bags of soup on the work top labelled and ready for the freezer I guess one of them would be the obvious choice. But to be honest I'm not sure I can face it, my diet so far today being of the purely liquid variety as I tasted and seasoned my way through each of the pans in turn.




What I do feel like is liquid in another form, a small oloroso sherry perhaps, chilled and dry from the fridge, to provide me with a satisfyingly grown up full stop to the day.  The sherry leads me straight to this simple recipe, a dish of baked eggs with wild mushrooms & cream, an easy and quick supper that feels both comforting and luxurious. Just what you need on a chilly autumn evening.

And now I'm off to relax......




Baked eggs with wild mushrooms & cream
Serves 2 for a light supper
2 generous handfuls of interesting mushrooms - a mixture of wild and cultivated, torn into bite sized pieces
30g unsalted butter
a couple of sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
1 clove garlic, finely sliced
2 tbsp dry sherry - I like dry Oloroso for its rich nutty flavour
200ml double cream
2 eggs
A few sprigs of flat leaf parsley
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Melt the butter in a small frying pan over a low heat and add the mushrooms and thyme. Sweat very gently for around 10 minutes until the mushrooms are soft, tender and aromatic. 


Add the garlic and fry for a further minute or two before pouring in the sherry. Increase the heat and let it evaporate a little. Pour in the cream and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Simmer for a minute or two to allow the sauce to thicken then divide between two small baking dishes.


Using a spoon make a well in the centre of each dish and crack an egg into each. Season the top of the egg with a touch more salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until the white has set and the yolk is cooked to your liking.



Serve straight out of the oven, whilst it is still bubbling, with plenty of bread to dip in. 
A small glass of sherry on the side would be a fitting accompaniment, that’s what I did!










4 comments:

  1. So excited to see the front cover, makes me even more excited to see what's inside! I can't believe you have cooked and style THAT much soup in one day and you still had the energy to write a blog post. Hope you sleep well!

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  2. Thanks Ren!! What a few days I've had, made enough to feed an army, 2 days of Soup! then 12 cheese recipes for Barber cheese. Knackered but really happy to see it all coming together. You like the cover?

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  3. Great minds! Am baking eggs with leeks, ham & cream right now :) Some thyme too. Good luck with the photoshoot!

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  4. Ah thanks, Eat Like a Girl!! Gotta love a baked egg, so easy, so satisfying. Photos went great, so wonderful to see it all come together, finally......

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