Poached Eggs Mireille

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Four 3-inch (7.5 cm) tartlet moulds or 1/3-cup (80 ml) ramekins
• •Two small heavy saucepans, one with a tight-fitting lid
• •8-inch (20 cm) skillet
• •12-inch (30 cm) wide sauté pan for poaching
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Whisk and slotted spoon
• •Large warmed round or oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Bloom the saffron

   Divide the saffron between two small cups, crushing the threads lightly between your fingers. Warm the chicken stock and milk separately until hot but not boiling, then pour the stock over one portion of saffron and the milk over the other. Leave both for 10 minutes, until they turn deep gold and smell warm and floral. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the saffron milk for adjusting the sauce later.

2. 2

   Cook the pilaff

   Melt the pilaff butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the shallot and cook without browning for 2 minutes, then add the rice and nacrer (coat it in butter until the grains look pearly at their edges). Pour in the saffron stock, season with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and bring it to a gentle simmer. Cover tightly, lower the heat, and cook for 14 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and leave it covered for 10 minutes, then fluff gently. If the rice is still chalky and the pan is dry, sprinkle in a spoonful of hot water, cover, and return it to low heat for 3 minutes.

3. 3

   Stew the Concass

   Melt the tomato butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the Concass, tomato chopped roughly, with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring more often as it thickens, until the liquid has disappeared and the tomato holds a neat mound on a spoon. This must be thick, not saucy, or it will slide from the rice. If the butter begins to catch before the tomato is ready, add a teaspoon of water and lower the heat.

4. 4

   Build the cream sauce

   Melt the sauce butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in the flour and cook this roux blond (pale roux) for 90 seconds without letting it colour. Add the saffron milk gradually, whisking after every addition, then whisk in the cream. Simmer gently for 5 to 7 minutes, until the sauce is nappé, thick enough to coat the back of a spoon while still flowing freely. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and the white pepper. If lumps appear, take the pan off the heat and whisk firmly, then pass the sauce through a fine sieve if needed. Ça se rattrape. If it becomes too thick, whisk in the reserved saffron milk a spoonful at a time.

5. 5

   Fry the toast

   Heat the olive oil in an 8-inch (20 cm) skillet over medium heat until it glimmers. Fry the bread rounds in batches for 60 to 90 seconds per side, until crisp and evenly golden. Drain them on a rack or absorbent paper and keep them warm. If the first round darkens before its centre crisps, lower the heat; the toast must support the egg without becoming hard enough to fight the fork.

6. 6

   Mould the pilaff

   Butter four 3-inch (7.5 cm) tartlet moulds or 1/3-cup (80 ml) ramekins. Spoon in the warm saffroned pilaff and press it only enough to hold together; pack it hard and the grains lose the lightness that makes pilaff itself. Warm and dry a large serving platter, then turn out the rice moulds in a circle, alternating them with the four fried toast rounds. If a mould clings, loosen its edge with a thin knife and rest its base on a hot damp towel for 10 seconds before trying again. Crown each rice mould with one coffeespoonful, about 1 teaspoon, of the thick tomato Concass.

7. 7

   Set the poaching water

   Combine the water and vinegar in a wide sauté pan and bring it just below a simmer. The surface should tremble gently at 180 to 185°F (82 to 85°C), with no rolling bubbles. Crack each egg into its own small cup so it can enter the water cleanly. Fresh eggs matter here because their firm whites gather around the yolks instead of feathering across the pan.

8. 8

   Poach the eggs

   Slide the eggs into the water one at a time, working clockwise so you remember their order. Poach for 3 to 3 1/2 minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks remain soft, then lift them out in the same order with a slotted spoon. If the water breaks into a boil and the whites begin to scatter, pull the pan off the heat at once and add a splash of cool water around the edge; let the eggs finish in the calmer water. Drain each egg briefly on a clean towel and trim only the loosest threads of white.

9. 9

   Coat and serve

   Set one drained poached egg on each fried toast round. Rewarm the saffron cream sauce over the gentlest heat, whisking until glossy, then spoon it generously over the eggs so their whites are fully coated while the crisp toast edges remain visible. Sprinkle the eggs with the remaining salt only if the sauce needs it. Bring the platter immediately to the table, with egg-topped toast and saffron pilaff alternating around the circle. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use the freshest eggs you can find. A fresh white sits high and gathers neatly around its yolk; an older white spreads, though the vinegar and calm water will still help you bring it under control.
• •Choose long-grain rice, not risotto rice. Pilaff should show separate buttered grains even after moulding, so press it lightly and no more.
• •Ripe fresh tomatoes are splendid here, but good canned tomatoes, drained well, are the honest answer outside their season. Better a preserved tomato with flavour than a pale fresh one with none.
• •Use real butter, whole milk, and cream. The sauce depends on their flavour and emulsion, and substitutes leave it thin in both senses. We don't apologize for butter.
• •Pour a dry Provençal white with the dish. Its freshness meets the cream, while its herbal and citrus notes sit naturally beside saffron and tomato.

Advance Preparation

• •The tomato Concass can be cooked one day ahead and chilled. Reheat it gently in a covered pan, adding a teaspoon of water only if the butter has set it too firmly.
• •The saffron cream sauce can be prepared one day ahead. Press parchment directly against its surface, chill it, and reheat over low heat while whisking in a spoonful of milk if it has tightened.
• •For a dinner party, poach the eggs up to 2 hours ahead, transfer them directly to ice water, and refrigerate. Rewarm them for 30 to 45 seconds in barely simmering water, drain well, then place them on the toast and coat with sauce.
• •The pilaff may be cooked earlier the same day. Cool it promptly if it will stand longer than an hour, then reheat it covered with a spoonful of stock before filling the buttered moulds. Fry the toast close to serving so it remains crisp.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 245g)