Huevos Rellenos a la Vasca

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small saucepan for boiling eggs
• •Heavy 1.5 to 2 litre saucepan
• •Whisk
• •Piping bag with a wide plain tip, or a sturdy food bag with the corner cut
• •Shallow 24 by 18cm baking dish or oval gratin dish

Instructions

1. 1

   Boil the eggs

   Put the eggs in a saucepan and cover them with cold water by 2cm. Add a good pinch of salt, bring to a boil, then lower to a steady simmer for 10 minutes. Lift the eggs straight into cold water and leave them 10 minutes more, then peel, halve lengthwise, and ease the yolks into a bowl. The whites should stay clean and firm, not rubbery. Green rings are harmless, but they taste tired.

   Eggs that are a few days old peel more cleanly than eggs laid yesterday. Nadie nace sabiendo, but this one small thing saves nerves.
2. 2

   Start the bechamel

   Melt the butter with the olive oil in a small heavy saucepan over low heat. Add the grated onion and a pinch of the salt, then cook 8 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is soft and sweet but not browned. Stir in the flour and cook 2 minutes more, until it smells nutty and no longer raw.

3. 3

   Whisk it thick

   Add the warm milk in four additions, whisking hard after each one so the sauce stays smooth. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring with a whisk or wooden spoon, until the bechamel is thick enough that the spoon leaves a clear path on the bottom of the pan for a second. Season with the remaining salt, the white pepper, and the nutmeg if using. This thickness is what lets the filling hold its shape instead of sliding away.

   If you get lumps, whisk firmly off the heat or pass the bechamel through a sieve. No drama. The eggs won't know.
4. 4

   Make the filling

   Measure 120g of the hot bechamel into the bowl with the yolks. Add the drained bonito and the tomate frito, then mash with a fork until smooth enough to pipe, or pulse briefly in a food processor. It should be thick, glossy, and able to hold a ridge. Taste for salt. If your tomate frito is loose, cook it down first; watery tomato makes a tired filling.

5. 5

   Fill the whites

   Lightly butter a shallow baking dish, about 24 by 18cm, and set the egg whites cut side up. Spoon or pipe the tuna filling back into the hollows, mounding it high. Spoon the remaining bechamel over and around the eggs in a generous coat, but don't bury them so deeply you lose their shape. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and the grated cheese if using.

6. 6

   Gratinate and rest

   Heat the oven to 220C. Bake the eggs on the upper shelf for 8 to 10 minutes, until the bechamel is bubbling at the edges and spotted gold on top. If you want more color, set them briefly under the grill or broiler, watching closely. Rest 10 minutes before serving, then lay a strip of piquillo pepper over each half if using. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Chef Tips

• •Buy bonito del norte in olive oil if you can. It is firmer, cleaner, and more northern in character than ordinary tuna. If you use tuna, choose one packed in olive oil and drain it hard; water-packed tuna makes the filling wet and flat.
• •Tomate frito is not ketchup and not raw tomato puree. If you can't buy it, simmer 200g passata with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of salt until it reduces to about 120g and tastes sweet rather than sharp.
• •Pésalo, no lo adivines. The bechamel amount in the filling matters: too much and the eggs slump, too little and the yolks eat dry. Measure 120g for the filling and keep the rest for the cover.
• •For a picnic or potluck, keep these chilled until travel and do not leave them in direct heat. Egg, fish, and milk are honest food, but they don't forgive a hot windowsill.

Advance Preparation

• •Boil and peel the eggs up to 2 days ahead; keep them covered in the refrigerator so the whites do not dry out.
• •Assemble the filled eggs with the bechamel up to 24 hours ahead, cover, and refrigerate. Add the breadcrumbs just before baking so they keep their bite.
• •If baking from cold, give the dish 15 minutes in the oven before browning the top. Serve warm or at room temperature within 2 hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 200g)