Cold Eggs Moscovite

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small saucepan with lid
• •8-inch (20 cm) shallow dish for setting the gelée
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •½-inch (12 mm) plain metal piping tip or narrow tubular cutter
• •Demitasse spoon or narrow cocktail spoon
• •11-inch (28 cm) round serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Set the gelée

   Sprinkle 2½ teaspoons of the gelatin over ¼ cup (60 ml) of the cold stock and leave it for 5 minutes to swell. Heat the remaining stock just until it begins to tremble at the edge, then take it off the heat and whisk in the softened gelatin until completely dissolved. Pour it through a fine sieve into a shallow 8-inch (20 cm) dish, skim away any bubbles, and chill for at least 3 hours, until firm enough to cut and chop. If the gelée remains too soft, melt it gently, bloom the reserved ½ teaspoon gelatin in 1 tablespoon of cold water, whisk it in, and reset it. Ça se rattrape.

   Never boil the stock once the gelatin is added. A hard boil makes a clear gelée cloudy, and this pale dish shows every shortcut.
2. 2

   Cook centered eggs

   Put the eggs in a saucepan in one layer and cover them with cold water by 1 inch (2.5 cm). Bring the water gradually to a gentle simmer, nudging and turning the eggs carefully during the first 3 minutes; this encourages the yolks toward the center, where the cutter needs them. Simmer for 10 minutes, then transfer the eggs immediately to ice water and chill them completely. Keep them cold for at least 30 minutes before peeling.

   The spare egg is not extravagance. A smooth, centered egg is the structure of the dish, and one stubborn shell shouldn't undo the platter.
3. 3

   Prepare the cold elements

   Turn out the firm gelée and chop it finely into irregular crystals no larger than ⅛ inch (3 mm); return it to the cold. Examine the artichoke bottoms and trim only enough from beneath to stop any wobbling, keeping their shallow cups intact. Blot the artichokes and anchovies once more, and cut the truffle into four neat, dark squares. Moisture makes the barrel decorations slide, so everything must be cold and dry before assembly.

4. 4

   Form the barrels

   Peel the eggs carefully and choose the four smoothest. Slice the thinnest possible piece from the broad base of each egg so it stands, then level the narrow top without cutting into the yolk. For each egg, use three small anchovy fillets to make two hoops, joining one and a half fillets around the upper end and the remaining one and a half around the base. Overlap the joins at the back. Melt a teaspoon of gelée and use the smallest touch beneath each band to secure it, then fix one truffle square halfway up the front like a barrel bung. Chill for 10 minutes. If a hoop slides, dry the egg again and tack it with another pinhead of melted gelée; pressing harder only bruises the white.

5. 5

   Hollow each egg

   Set an egg upright and center a ½-inch (12 mm) plain metal piping tip over its narrow top. Twist the tip straight down through the upper white and into the yolk, stopping before it cuts the lower wall. Withdraw the core, then use a narrow demitasse spoon or the handle of a small spoon to remove the remaining yolk without thinning the outer white. Don't chase the final crumb at the price of a tear. If the bore begins to wander, widen it inward toward the yolk, never outward through the white; if an egg splits, bring forward the spare.

6. 6

   Fill with caviar

   Keep the caviar cold until this moment. With a small nonreactive spoon, fill each hollow gently, letting the beads settle under their own weight rather than tamping them. Build the final spoonful into a small point rising beyond the edge of the egg, exactly as the original platter intended. The caviar is not a decorative teaspoon here; it is the center of the bite.

7. 7

   Seat and arrange

   Spoon a bed of chopped gelée into each artichoke bottom and nest one filled egg upright in its cup. Pack a little more gelée around the base to steady it without covering the lower anchovy hoop. Arrange the four artichoke bottoms in a circle on a chilled round platter and heap the remaining chopped gelée loosely in the center. Chill for 15 minutes, then bring the platter out while the gelée is bright and the caviar remains glossy. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Buy whole artichoke bottoms, not quartered hearts. The shallow, pale cup is structural: it supports the egg and catches the chopped gelée. Preserved bottoms are the honest home equivalent to trimming and cooking four fresh globes à blanc.
• •Use black sturgeon caviar with clean, separate beads. It needn't be the rarest tin, but another roe changes the color, salinity, and texture plainly; if you make that change, know that you are making a cousin to œufs froids moscovite.
• •Choose narrow anchovy fillets and blot away their oil thoroughly. Heavy fillets overwhelm the egg and refuse to bend into hoops; thin, supple ones lie close like the iron bands they imitate.
• •Serve with brut Champagne and thin, plain toast if you want something alongside. Keep the toast off the platter. The eggs already have quite enough architecture.
• •Save the removed yolks for a mayonnaise or salad dressing. They don't return to this preparation, and forcing them back would crowd the caviar.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the gelée up to 2 days ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator. Chop it on the day of serving so its cut surfaces remain bright.
• •Hard-cook the eggs 1 day ahead and refrigerate them unpeeled. Peel, level, decorate, and hollow them while thoroughly cold.
• •The artichoke bottoms can be rinsed, dried, and chilled up to 4 hours ahead. Keep them covered so their edges don't dry.
• •Assemble the anchovy hoops, truffle bungs, and artichoke bases up to 3 hours ahead. Fill the eggs with caviar no more than 30 minutes before the platter is served, then keep everything refrigerated.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 220g)