Poached Eggs à la Clamart

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Four 4-inch (10 cm) fluted tartlet tins with removable bases
• •Parchment paper and pie weights
• •Small heavy saucepan and whisk
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Wide 10-inch (25 cm) pan and slotted spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the tartlet dough

   Mix the flour and salt, then rub in the cold butter until most of it resembles coarse crumbs but a few thin flakes remain. Add 2 tablespoons of ice water and press the mixture together; add the final tablespoon only if dry flour remains. Stop as soon as the dough holds. Flatten it into a disc, wrap it, and chill for 30 minutes so the flour hydrates and the pastry relaxes.

   Don't knead the dough smooth. Those remaining butter flakes give the shells their crisp, tender structure.
2. 2

   Blind-bake the shells

   Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Roll the chilled dough about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick and cut four rounds large enough to line 4-inch (10 cm) tartlet tins. Press the dough into the corners without stretching it, trim the rims, prick the bases, and chill for 15 minutes. Line each shell with parchment and pie weights, then bake for 15 minutes. Remove the weights and parchment and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes, until the bases are dry and the rims are an even butter-gold. Cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then unmold.

3. 3

   Make fresh-pea butter

   Cook the fresh peas in gently boiling salted water for 2 to 3 minutes, or frozen petits pois for about 1 minute, until tender and vivid green. Drain thoroughly and press away surface water. Crush the peas into a paste, force it through a fine sieve, and let it cool completely before working in the softened butter. If the paste looks loose, press it again before adding the butter; excess water would thin the finished sauce.

4. 4

   Build the cream sauce

   Melt the butter in a small saucepan over gentle heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 90 seconds without letting it color. Whisk in the warm milk gradually, keeping the mixture smooth, then add the warm cream. Simmer gently for 5 to 7 minutes, whisking often, until the sauce reaches nappant, thick enough to coat the back of a spoon while still flowing. Season with the salt and white pepper. If lumps form, pass the sauce through a fine sieve; if it tightens too far, whisk in a spoonful of warm milk. Hold it warm, but don't add the fresh-pea butter yet.

5. 5

   Warm and fill

   Set the tartlet shells in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, warm the prepared Petits Pois à la Française (No. 2193) gently in a covered saucepan, just until hot and glossy. The ciseled lettuce should already be folded through the finished peas. If liquid has gathered, spoon the garnish from the pan without carrying that excess into the pastry. Divide it among the warm shells, filling generously but leaving the fluted rims visible.

6. 6

   Poach the eggs

   Fill a wide pan with about 3 inches (7.5 cm) of water, add the vinegar, and bring it to a bare tremble, never a rolling boil. Crack each cold egg into a small cup. If the loose white looks watery, let the egg sit in a fine-mesh sieve for 5 seconds before returning it to the cup. Slip in two eggs at a time and poach for 3 to 3½ minutes, nudging the white around the yolk with a spoon, until the white is set and the yolk remains soft. If a white begins to feather, draw it gently back around the yolk rather than stirring the pan. Ça se rattrape. Lift each egg with a slotted spoon and drain it thoroughly on a clean towel.

7. 7

   Finish and assemble

   Take the warm cream sauce off the heat and whisk in the fresh-pea butter a little at a time. It should turn pale green and glossy while remaining nappant. If it looks greasy, whisk in 1 teaspoon of cold cream until it comes together again. Set one well-drained poached egg on each filled tartlet and coat the egg generously with sauce, leaving a rim of green peas visible. Serve at once. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Petits Pois à la Française (No. 2193) is a finished component in this formula. Prepare it from its own entry, then measure the completed pea-and-lettuce garnish for these tartlets; its butter, onions, herbs, lettuce, salt, and sugar belong to that preparation.
• •Cisel means to cut into fine, even crosswise ribbons. In the completed Petits Pois à la Française (No. 2193), the cooked lettuce should be ciseled and folded through the peas, not scattered raw over the finished eggs.
• •Fresh spring peas make the most fragrant pea butter. Outside their season, use small frozen petits pois picked at their peak; an honest preserved pea is far better than a large, starchy fresh one.
• •Very fresh eggs hold the neatest oval in the poaching water. For pregnant guests, older adults, young children, or anyone with reduced immunity, use pasteurized eggs and cook the yolks to the degree advised for them.

Advance Preparation

• •Bake the tartlet shells up to 1 day ahead. Once completely cool, keep them airtight at room temperature and refresh them for 5 minutes in a 300°F (150°C) oven before filling.
• •Make the fresh-pea butter up to 1 day ahead and refrigerate it well covered. Let it soften slightly before whisking it into the sauce.
• •For a dinner party, poach the eggs up to 4 hours ahead, transfer them immediately to iced water, and refrigerate. Rewarm them for 30 to 45 seconds in barely simmering water, then drain them thoroughly before assembly.
• •The cream sauce can be made up to 2 hours ahead and held covered. Reheat it gently with a spoonful of milk if needed, adding the fresh-pea butter only at the final moment to preserve its color.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 230g)