Cold Eggs Alexandra

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide 3-quart saucepan for poaching
• •Small heavy saucepan for the chaud-froid
• •4½-inch and 3-inch oval cutters, or paper templates and a sharp knife
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Rimmed baking sheet and parchment paper
• •Slotted spoon
• •Small offset spatula and paring knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Set the aspic

   Pour ¼ cup (60 ml) of the clear stock into a small bowl, sprinkle the 2¼ teaspoons gelatin evenly over it, and leave it for 5 minutes to bloom. Bring the remaining stock just to a simmer, then remove it from the heat and stir in the bloomed gelatin until completely dissolved. Taste it cold from a spoon and add up to ¼ teaspoon of the salt if needed; caviar will bring more salt later. Strain the aspic through a fine sieve. Pour half into a shallow dish for the chopped jelly and half into a small covered container for glazing. Refrigerate both until firm, about 3 hours.

   The stock must be pale and clean tasting. A deeply roasted stock makes a brown glaze and buries the black-and-ivory contrast that defines the dish.
2. 2

   Bake pale tartlets

   Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Cut eight matching ovals from the chilled puff pastry, each about 4½ by 3 inches (11.5 by 7.5 cm). Cut a smaller oval from the center of four pieces to make rings. Brush the four solid bases very lightly with cold water, set the rings on top, and prick only the exposed centers with a fork. Chill for 20 minutes, then bake on parchment for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven to 325°F (165°C), shield the pastry loosely with foil, and bake for another 8 to 12 minutes, until the layers are cooked but only pale straw in color. If the centers rise, press them down gently while warm. Cool completely.

   Do not use egg wash. Gloss and deep browning belong elsewhere; these tartlets are meant to remain quiet and pale beneath the egg.
3. 3

   Poach and trim

   Fill a wide saucepan with 6 cups (1.4 L) of the water and add the vinegar. Bring it to a bare simmer, with small bubbles at the bottom but no rolling boil. Crack each egg into a cup, slide it gently into the water, and poach for 3½ to 4 minutes, until the white is fully set and the yolk remains tender. Work two at a time so the pan stays calm. Lift the eggs into the remaining cold water, adding ice if available, and chill for 5 minutes. Trim every ragged edge with a small knife to make a neat oval, then drain the eggs on a clean towel, turning once, until completely dry. Chill them uncovered for 20 minutes.

   Fresh eggs hold close to the yolk and need less trimming. The water should tremble, not boil; rough water frays the whites before they can set.
4. 4

   Make the chaud-froid

   Sprinkle the 1½ teaspoons gelatin over 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of cold water and leave it to bloom for 5 minutes. Melt the butter over medium-low heat, stir in the flour, and cook this roux blanc, a white roux, for 2 minutes without letting it color. Whisk in the pale stock gradually, then simmer gently for 5 minutes, stirring along the bottom. Add the cream and simmer for another 5 to 7 minutes, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Remove it from the heat, stir in the bloomed gelatin, and season with the white pepper and enough of the remaining salt to taste distinct but not salty. Strain into a bowl and stir over ice until it has the body of thick pouring cream. If it sets too firmly, warm the bowl over barely warm water; if it runs like milk, cool it longer. Ça se rattrape.

   Keep the roux and sauce pale. Gentle heat cooks away the raw flour taste while preserving the ivory color.
5. 5

   Mask the eggs

   Set the cold, dry eggs on a chilled parchment-lined tray. Spoon the thickened chaud-froid over each egg from the crown downward, letting it cloak the white in one even layer. Refrigerate for 15 minutes, until the coating is set and dry to a light touch. If the sauce slides away, either the egg is damp or the sauce is too warm. Stop, blot the exposed place carefully, chill both egg and sauce, and cover the bare patch once the sauce thickens again. Do not keep pouring warm sauce over the failure.

6. 6

   Add truffle and glaze

   Cut four very thin rounds from the truffle. Make tiny inward notches around each edge with the point of a knife, forming the fine indented slices described in the original entry, and place one in the center of every coated egg. Stand the reserved glazing aspic in a bowl of barely warm water until it melts, then cool it over ice until fluid but beginning to thicken. Spoon a very thin coat over each egg and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Add a second thin coat only where the first has missed. Warm aspic will soften the chaud-froid; if the white surface begins to run, chill the eggs at once and let the aspic cool further before repairing the bare place.

7. 7

   Build the crown

   Run the point of a small knife around the foot of each glazed egg, exactly as the original directs, then lift it with a narrow offset spatula and settle it into a cold oval tartlet. Spoon a neat border of caviar around each egg, filling the space between the white mask and the pastry rim. Chop the aspic from the shallow dish into bright, irregular crystals. Arrange the four tartlets in a crown on a chilled platter and mound the chopped jelly in the center. Serve within 30 minutes, while the pastry remains crisp and the caviar properly cold. À table!

Chef Tips

• •A pale stock is the foundation for both coatings. Homemade white chicken stock is splendid, but a good low-sodium prepared stock is an honest home equivalent; strain it well and avoid anything made from roasted bones.
• •A small preserved whole black truffle is the classical pantry's sensible answer when fresh truffle is unavailable. Drain and dry it before slicing. Truffle oil cannot make the indented centerpiece and overwhelms the quiet sauce.
• •The caviar is not a stray garnish. It supplies salinity, color, and the final soft pop against the egg and pastry, so keep it very cold and add it only at assembly.
• •Cold dulls seasoning. Taste both aspic and chaud-froid from chilled spoons before they set, remembering that the caviar will sharpen the finished bite.
• •For guests who are pregnant, elderly, very young, or immunocompromised, use pasteurized shell eggs. Keep the poached eggs and completed dish at or below 40°F (4°C).
• •A dry brut Champagne or a mineral Chablis suits the cold egg, cream, truffle, and caviar without crowding them.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the aspic up to 2 days ahead and keep both portions covered in the refrigerator. Melt only the glazing portion when the eggs are ready.
• •Bake the tartlet crusts up to 1 day ahead. Once completely cool, keep them airtight at room temperature so they remain crisp.
• •Poach, trim, mask, decorate, and glaze the eggs up to 12 hours ahead. Refrigerate them after the glaze has set, covered without letting the wrapping touch their surfaces.
• •Transfer the eggs to the tartlets and add the caviar no more than 30 minutes before serving. Longer contact softens the pastry and dulls the caviar.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 315g)