Chef Juliette
Omelette à l’Écossaise
A creamy omelette aux fines herbes closes around smoked-salmon-wrapped herring milts, gently poached in butter. Have the filling ready, then roll the eggs while they still shine.
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Fried Eggs à la Romaine
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 489, Fried Eggs à la Romaine, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Crisp-edged eggs, liquid yolks, and butter-browned spinach subrics carrying diced anchovy: a compact classical composition that teaches control of hot fat and rewards immediate serving.
Breakfast & Brunch
French
Weeknight
Comfort Food
Dinner Party
10 min
Active Time
20 min cook•30 min total
Yield4 servings
Œufs frits à la Romaine teaches the discipline of contrast: a crisp white around a flowing yolk, set over tender spinach sharpened with anchovy. The subrics, little oval vegetable cakes, give the eggs structure and absorb the yolk without becoming soft. One thing decides the dish before you touch the pan: the frying oil must be hot enough to seize the white immediately without scorching it.
The original formula assumed a saucier with the reduced binding sauce ready and a fry station turning subrics and eggs together at the instant of service. At home, make the linked subrics as their own finished component, hold eight briefly on a rack, then fry the eggs in small batches. The separate stations were brigade scaffolding and can go; the anchovy in the spinach and the eggs fried in oil are the dish and must stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.
Keep the yolks fluid and the whites just bronzed at their crinkled edges. The anchovy supplies the seasoning beneath them, so taste before reaching for salt. Bring the oil to its proper heat before the first egg meets it, and the rest moves quickly.
Œufs frits à la Romaine belongs to the Parisian grand-kitchen repertoire, where geographic names often signaled an ingredient affinity rather than a literal regional household recipe. Here à la romaine means spinach sharpened with anchovy beneath eggs fried in oil, a French reading of the Roman pairing of green leaves and salt fish. It should not be mistaken for a documented Roman breakfast; the little subrics place it firmly within the working French canon.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
prepared spinach subrics
Quantity
8 small oval Subrics d’Épinards (No. 2137)
finished with the diced anchovy incorporated into the spinach mixture and kept warm
oil-packed anchovy fillets
Quantity
6 fillets (about 1 oz / 28 g), for the Subrics d’Épinards (No. 2137)
drained and finely diced
large eggs
Quantity
8
refined olive oil
Quantity
3 cups (710 ml / 645 g)
for frying
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| prepared spinach subricsfinished with the diced anchovy incorporated into the spinach mixture and kept warm | 8 small oval Subrics d’Épinards (No. 2137) |
| oil-packed anchovy filletsdrained and finely diced | 6 fillets (about 1 oz / 28 g), for the Subrics d’Épinards (No. 2137) |
| large eggs | 8 |
| refined olive oilfor frying | 3 cups (710 ml / 645 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •10-inch / 25 cm deep-sided sauté pan
- •Deep-fry or instant-read thermometer
- •Two tablespoons for shaping the eggs
- •Wire rack set over a sheet pan
- •Four warmed serving plates
Instructions
- 1
Ready the subrics
Have the Subrics d’Épinards (No. 2137) finished according to their own formula, with the diced anchovy incorporated into the spinach preparation as this entry requires. Set the eight warm ovals on a wire rack over a sheet pan and hold them in a 200°F / 95°C oven while the oil heats. Keep them on the rack, not a flat plate, so their butter-browned undersides remain crisp.
The anchovy should appear as small salty sparks through the spinach, not as large pieces that pull away when cut. - 2
Heat the oil
Pour the refined olive oil into a deep-sided 10-inch / 25 cm sauté pan and heat it to 375°F / 190°C. The surface should shimmer without smoking, and a thread of egg white dropped in should tighten, bubble, and float at once. If it sinks quietly, wait; lukewarm oil makes greasy, wandering whites.
- 3
Fry the eggs
Crack two eggs into separate small cups. Slide them gently into opposite sides of the oil, then use two tablespoons to sweep the loose white inward around each yolk. Spoon a little hot oil over the whites, avoiding the yolks, and fry for 45 to 60 seconds, until the edges are crinkled and pale gold while the yolks remain soft beneath a thin veil of white. If a white races into ragged threads, don't discard it. Ça se rattrape: fold the strands back toward the yolk with the spoons, then let the oil return to 375°F / 190°C before adding the next eggs. Drain each pair on a clean wire rack and repeat.
Fresh eggs hold the neatest shape because their thick whites cling closely to the yolks. Older eggs still taste good, but they need more coaxing with the spoons. - 4
Assemble and serve
Arrange two warm Subrics d’Épinards (No. 2137) on each warmed plate and place one fried egg squarely over each oval. Serve the moment the final pair is drained. No extra sauce or ornamental garnish is needed; the yolk runs into the anchovy spinach and finishes the composition at the table. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Use refined olive oil rather than a strongly flavored extra-virgin oil. The source asks for oil, and refined olive oil tolerates the necessary heat while keeping the eggs clean-tasting.
- •Choose plain oil-packed anchovies and drain them well. Dice them finely before incorporating them into the Subrics d’Épinards (No. 2137); they should season the spinach from within, not sit on top as a garnish.
- •Don't salt automatically. Anchovy strength varies, and the egg yolk spreads that seasoning across every bite. Taste one edge of a subric first, then decide.
- •The main entry adds no cream sauce, even though the linked subric formula may serve one separately when cooked alone. Here the flowing yolks provide the sauce.
Advance Preparation
- •The listed time begins with the finished Subrics d’Épinards (No. 2137) ready. Their proportions and method remain in their own linked formula.
- •The anchovy-enriched subrics can be cooked up to 4 hours ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated. Reheat them on a rack at 375°F / 190°C for 6 to 8 minutes, then lower the oven to 200°F / 95°C while frying the eggs.
- •Fry the eggs only at serving time. Their crisp edges and liquid yolks don't wait gracefully.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 205g)
Calories
550 calories
Total Fat
42 g
Saturated Fat
9 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
31 g
Cholesterol
475 mg
Sodium
610 mg
Total Carbohydrates
18 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
26 g
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