Eggs en Cocotte is a French breakfast dish that is named for the dish that the egg is cooked in, the little cocotte pot. A very easy dish to prepare it essentially is baking eggs in a bain-marie (water bath). The base ingredients are eggs and a splash of cream. You can mix and match the ingredients. In this version, I have paired bacon with shallots, mushrooms and cheese. You could also make it vegetarian with tomatoes, asparagus or spinach.
Great brunch dish as you can prepare most in advance. This is a favourite breakfast dish in the Royal household, dating back to Queen Victoria.
Elegant Eggs en Cocotte
Eggs en Cocotte is a French breakfast dish which is named for the dish that the egg is cooked in, the little cocotte pot. This is a favorite breakfast dish in the Royal household.
Servings 2 people
Ingredients
- 4 slices of bacon, finely chopped omit for veggie version
- 1 large shallot, minced
- 2 button mushrooms, diced
- 2 tsp. whipping cream
- 1 tbsp. fresh herbs (rosemary leaves, basil, parsley, minced)
- 2 Tbsp grated melting cheese (i.e. cheddar, gruyere)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1 pinch freshly ground pepper
- toast to soak up the eggy goodness
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375F. Have a square oven proof dish or pan handy.
- Grease the insides of 2 cocottes or oven-proof 8 ounch ramekins with cooking spray or a small amount of butter.
- Add diced bacon, shallot and mushrooms to a small skillet and cook over medium-high heat for 8 minutes until all bacon is cooked, Set aside.
- Divide the cooked items and a bit of your herbs between the two ramekins, and then add 1 tsp. of cream in each container and place in your baking pan.
- Add a sprinkle of cheese and then crack 2 eggs into each dish. Top with a little more cheese and herbs.
- Fill the pan halfway up the sides with boiling water.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the whites of the eggs are set and the yolk is still runny.
- Finish with one last sprinkle of herbs, and salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Plate and serve with toast to dunk and a spoon to dig out the sunken treasure.
Notes
Tools you can use
Cooks, like other professionals, have their tools and as Mrs. Patmore says “it is a poor workman who blames his tools”. You can make do with the basics, but as you gain confidence and love for cooking, you should start to recognize items to help you cook. Mrs. Patmore didn’t like electronic gadgets to cook with so be assured you can make do without the expensive gizmos. This section helps you identify some equipment that I use.This section helps you identify some equipment that I use. If you wish you can order directly from Cooking.com or Amazon.com, both reputable stores I have used in the past. Cocottes and Ramekins