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Eggs Florentine
Preamble
"The Italians love spinach, and make more use of it than we do. All those green pasta, the pasta verde, are not coloured and flavoured by drops from a bottle, but by the addition of spinach and spinach juice. Sometimes ravioli and tortellini are filled with a mixture of spinach and cream cheese and Parmesan. When eggs, fish and ham are cooked and served with spinach and cheese sauce, we describe them as 'Florentine', in the style of Florence."
Ingredients3-4 lb Spinach cooked as before 6 medium Eggs 1 oz Butter 1 oz Flour 1/2 pint hot Milk 1/4 pint single Cream Heaped tablespoon Parmesan Cheese or Cheddar to taste 2 crumbled Rusks or Biscottes Salt Pepper Nutmeg |
MethodAs the spinach cooks, make the sauce. Melt the butter in a heavy pan, stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Cook gently for 2 minutes, then incorporate the hot milk gradually, to avoid lumps, and the single cream. Season with half the cheese or a little more to taste, with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and leave to simmer over low heat for at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile, having drained the spinach, put it into a buttered ovenproof dish, and prepare the eggs. They can be poached, but, if like me you're not an admirer of poached eggs, try cooking them this way - put them into a pan of fast-boiling water for exactly 5 minutes. Then plunge them into a pan of cold water, set under a gently running cold tap. The moment they're cool enough to handle, tap them all over carefully and peel them (remember that the yolks will not be hard-boiled, so do this gently). Make six depressions in the spinach with the back of a tablespoon, and set the eggs well down. Strain the hot sauce over the dish. Mix the rest of the cheese with the rusk crumbs, and spinkle over the top. Bake in a hot oven for about 10 minutes, until the sauce bubbles and the top turns golden brown. |
Remarks
Appeared on menu: Florentine Eggs $2.00 (Eggs baked on a bed of fresh pureed spinach, topped with bechamel sauce and cheese)