Baked Eggs with Fennel and Shitake Mushrooms

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 The first time I had baked eggs was in Paris. A large Le Creuset-style saucepan showed up at the table, pipping hot, filled with at least 4 eggs, half a pound of bacon, potatoes and lots of cream. It was delicious.

I vowed to make them at home, which I finally got around to this week. In the two years since the baked eggs of Paris, I've stopped eating dairy. I didn't have any bacon in the house (which rarely happens around here), so I had to think of other mix-ins that would elevate my baked eggs to those I had in Paris.

  Instead of creating a cream-based dish, I went for a mix of sautéed shitake mushrooms and grated fennel with sage. The flavors combined perfectly with the egg, and the texture was great.

 Make sure to

Sage added a nice earthy tone to the mix. I was also going to add my much loved black truffle oil to the eggs, but thought that might be going overboard, flavor wise.

As I write this, I've come up with my next version of this dish: baked eggs with mushrooms, bacon, black truffle oil and sage. Anything you'd add into an omelette will work here, too. Just experiment, watch that the eggs don't cook too long and enjoy!

Baked Eggs with Fennel and Shitake Mushrooms

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ cup shredded fennel
  • 8 to 10 shitake mushrooms, tips removed and sliced
  • 4 teaspoons olive oil
  • 3 sage leaves, minced, or 1 twig tarragon, stem removed, leaves minced
  • Salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Heat a small sauté pan, add 2 teaspoons of the olive oil to the pan and the fennel shitake mushrooms and half of the herbs.
  3. Cook for 2 minutes on medium heat until the fennel softens and the shitake mushrooms brown.
  4. Oil two ramekins with the remaining olive oil and crack an egg into each.
  5. Split the fennel and mushroom mixture evenly between the ramekins, spooning it over the egg. Add salt, pepper and fresh herbs.
  6. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until you see the white hardening around the edge of the ramekin.
  7. Serve while still warm.

Serves 2. Prep time, 5 minutes; cook time 12 minutes.

PS: Here's the baked eggs they served me in Paris. Whoa! So awesome....

Saffron Rice...Don't Forget to Remove the Bay Leaf!

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Hello Friends. Have I told you about Gran Fran's Saffron Rice with Shrimp? It is truly extraordinary. I cannot recall a time without it showing up on a large buffet set out for friends and family. There is some idea in my brain that it was always included in group parties, but I don't recall it being made as a main course until we were grown.But, beyond the loveliness of the dish, I do know that I will always hear Gran Fran's voice in my head, loud and clear "You can make a nice dish of Saffron Rice with Shrimp, but don't forget to remove the bay leaf." She said this with a warning in her voice that matched only her request for us kids to cross the street when a dog we didn't know approached us.

I suppose she is right. The bay leaf can be sharp and doesn't really taste all that good. But, the flavor it lends to a recipe is immeasurable.

So, in closing on this little post, enjoy the following dish. Simple to make, serves many and is generally enjoyed by a host of different palettes.

But "Don't forget to remove the bay leaf."

Saffron Rice with Shrimp

serves 6 as a main course

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups Rice
  • 5 cups Water
  • 6 Boullion cubes
  • 1/2 cup White wine, Vermouth or Pernod
  • 2 cloves Garlic, quartered
  • 4 Tbsps Butter
  • 1 tube Saffron
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 1/4 Tsp Fennel Seeds (if you have them on hand)
  • Salt, Pepper and Red Pepper Flakes to taste

Method:

  • Bring water, boullion, garilc, butter, saffron and bay leaf, fennel, pepper and red pepper flakes to a boil in a large nonreative pan.
  • Once it has reached the boil, reduce the heat to medium and allow to simmer for 20 minutes or so.
  • Add the rice to the liquid. Bring to a boil again. Stir rice and reduce heat to medium/low to achieve a simmer.
  • Cover closely with a fitted lid, and simmer for 21 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed.

Sauteed Shrimp for Saffron Rice

Ingredients:

  • 1 Lb. Shrimp, cleaned and deveined, tails off
  • 2 Tbsps Butter
  • 1/4 Tsp Fennel Seeds
  • 1 Lemon, zest and juice
  • 1/4 cup White Wine, Vermouth or Pernod
  • Salt, Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes to Taste

Method:

  • Heat nonreactive skillet over high heat.
  • Add butter herbs and spices and lower heat a little somewhere between medium and high. Sautee for 1 minute.
  • Once butter has melted, add shrimps. Sautee until opaque, about 4 minutes.
  • Remove shrimps from pan.
  • Turn off the flame. Add wine, lemon juice and zest to pan and turn the flame back on the medium. Reduce the liquid by about half, scraping up the brown bits in the pan at the same time.
  • Pour the liquid over the shrimp.
  • Stir it all together with the rice and ENJOY!