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.

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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....