Chef Juliette
Eggs on the Dish
Œufs sur le plat teach the whole art of egg cookery in minutes: hot butter below, a light baste above, and the nerve to pull milky whites before the soft yolks set.
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Mirabeau Eggs
Created by Chef Juliette
Œufs Mirabeau makes a composed supper from softly set eggs, anchovy butter, blanched tarragon, and stuffed olives, with every garnish ready before the whites meet the heat.
Breakfast & Brunch
French
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
25 min
Active Time
10 min cook•35 min total
Yield4 servings
Œufs Mirabeau (eggs cooked in anchovy butter) teaches the quiet discipline of œufs sur le plat, eggs cooked and served in their shallow dishes: every garnish must be ready before the eggs meet heat. Anchovy is seasoning, structure, and ornament at once, so the whites need no salt and the yolks must remain fluid enough to soften its force. Have the tarragon blanched, the olives stuffed, and the fillets drained before you touch the pan. That is the one true thing.
The source assumes anchovy butter and tarragon butter are already waiting in the pantry, individual egg dishes stand ready, and extra hands can dress eight yolks before they carry on cooking. The grand kitchen around it may have kept a saucier on staff, a stock never off the fire, and a salamander ready, but this entry calls on none of them. At home, mix two spoonful-size compound butters, use pitted olives, and cook four dishes together on one sheet pan. That is brigade scaffolding reduced for one cook, one stove, one evening. Cooking the eggs in anchovy butter, wreathing every yolk with fillets and parboiled tarragon, then placing tarragon-buttered olives at the sides are the dish, and all of them stay.
When Œufs Mirabeau is right, the whites are tender and barely set, the yolks stand rounded and liquid, and anchovy butter gleams around their edges. The garnish should look deliberate but generous, a wreath rather than a scatter. The step that decides everything is the final minute of cooking: pull the dishes as soon as no clear white remains, before the yolks begin to firm.
Œufs Mirabeau belongs to the Parisian grand-kitchen repertory of œufs sur le plat, in which a basic egg preparation changed identity through a precise garnish. Mirabeau names the fixed arrangement of anchovy butter, anchovy fillets, blanched tarragon, and stuffed olives, not a separate method of cooking the eggs. Although olive and anchovy suggest the Mediterranean larder, this is not a Provençal regional specialty; it traveled through formal dining-room repertories because a brigade could assemble it from compound butters already waiting in the pantry.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
unsalted butter
Quantity
4 tablespoons (60 ml / 56 g)
softened, for the anchovy butter
oil-packed anchovy fillets
Quantity
4 fillets
drained and finely mashed
unsalted butter
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g)
softened, for stuffing the olives
fresh tarragon leaves
Quantity
2 teaspoons (10 ml / 1 g)
finely chopped
large pitted green olives
Quantity
8
drained and thoroughly dried
small fresh tarragon tips
Quantity
16
oil-packed anchovy fillets
Quantity
16 fillets
drained, patted dry, and brought to room temperature
large eggs
Quantity
8
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| unsalted buttersoftened, for the anchovy butter | 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 56 g) |
| oil-packed anchovy filletsdrained and finely mashed | 4 fillets |
| unsalted buttersoftened, for stuffing the olives | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) |
| fresh tarragon leavesfinely chopped | 2 teaspoons (10 ml / 1 g) |
| large pitted green olivesdrained and thoroughly dried | 8 |
| small fresh tarragon tips | 16 |
| oil-packed anchovy filletsdrained, patted dry, and brought to room temperature | 16 fillets |
| large eggs | 8 |
Equipment Needed
- •Four shallow 6-inch (15 cm) ovenproof egg or gratin dishes
- •Rimmed sheet pan
- •Small saucepan and bowl for the ice water
- •Small mixing bowls and a sturdy fork
- •Four heatproof underplates
Instructions
- 1
Mix the butters
Beat the 4 tablespoons of softened butter with the 4 mashed anchovy fillets until the mixture is smooth and evenly seasoned. In a second bowl, work the remaining tablespoon of butter with the chopped tarragon. Pack the tarragon butter into the cavities of the dried olives with the tip of a small knife, smoothing it level with each opening. If the filling slips out, the olive is still wet; blot it again and restuff it. Keep both the olives and anchovy butter at cool room temperature.
Use unsalted butter. The anchovies and olives provide all the salt this small dish needs. - 2
Blanch the tarragon
Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil and prepare a bowl of ice water. Blanchir, briefly parboiling and then cooling, is the source's treatment for the garnish: lower the 16 tarragon tips into the boiling water for 5 seconds, transfer them immediately to the ice water, then blot them completely dry between clean towels. This softens the sprays and fixes their herb-green colour without cooking away their character. Lay them beside the 16 whole anchovy fillets so the garnish is ready.
- 3
Heat the egg dishes
Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Set four shallow ovenproof egg dishes on a rimmed sheet pan. Divide the anchovy butter among them, spreading 1 tablespoon across the bottom of each dish, then warm them in the oven for 2 minutes. Pull the sheet pan when the butter is fully melted and beginning to foam around the edges, before the anchovy darkens.
- 4
Bake the eggs
Crack 2 eggs into each dish, lowering them close to the surface so the yolks remain whole and sit apart along the length of the dish. Return the sheet pan to the oven and bake for 5 to 7 minutes. Start checking at 5 minutes: the outer whites should be opaque, no clear albumen should remain beside the yolks, and the yolks should stand high and move softly when the pan is nudged. If a patch of white remains clear, return the eggs for 30-second intervals. Ça se rattrape. A firm yolk cannot be loosened, so pull early and let the hot porcelain supply the final touch of cooking.
- 5
Build the Mirabeau garnish
Working quickly, curve 2 anchovy fillets around each yolk to form a loose wreath without pressing against it. Lay one blanched tarragon tip over each fillet. Place 2 stuffed olives in every dish, one at each outer side of the pair of yolks. The arrangement is part of the preparation, so keep the elements distinct rather than scattering them. Set each hot dish on an underplate and serve immediately. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose intact, supple anchovy fillets for the wreaths. If a fillet tears while draining, use it in the anchovy butter and reserve the finest whole pieces for finishing.
- •Use large, firm green olives with a mild brine. If they taste fiercely salty, rinse them briefly and dry them thoroughly before stuffing; wet olives refuse to hold butter.
- •Do not salt the eggs. Between the anchovy butter, the fillet wreaths, and the olives, the seasoning is already complete.
- •Œufs Mirabeau does not wait. The hot dishes continue cooking the yolks after leaving the oven, so call everyone to the table before the eggs go in.
- •For an evening first course, pour a very dry Muscadet or Champagne. Its briskness meets the anchovy and olive without weighing down the eggs.
Advance Preparation
- •Both compound butters can be mixed up to 2 days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. The olives may be stuffed at the same time; bring everything out about 20 minutes before cooking so the butter softens.
- •The tarragon tips can be blanched up to 4 hours ahead. Dry them carefully and refrigerate them between clean towels, then bring them to room temperature with the garnish anchovies.
- •Do not cook the eggs ahead or attempt to reheat them. Prepare every garnish first, then bake the eggs only when the diners are seated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 140g)
Calories
325 calories
Total Fat
27 g
Saturated Fat
13 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
12 g
Cholesterol
425 mg
Sodium
1000 mg
Total Carbohydrates
1 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
0 g
Protein
19 g
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