Darina Allen: A dedication to the magic and versatility of eggs
That’s how I gave up sugar in my tea originally and I’ve always been grateful to the Dominican nuns in Wicklow who insisted we did proper penance during Lent.
This Easter I thought I might dedicate this column to the magic and versatility of eggs in general.
Easter eggs, sometimes called Pascal eggs, have always been associated with Easter, not least because there’s usually a glut of eggs when people fasted during the Lenten period.
Numerous cultures use eggs in different ways in their Easter rituals and ceremonies. In Judaism, hard boiled eggs are an element of Passover Sedepr which coincides with Christian, Holy Week.
Iranians paint eggs for the Spring Holiday of Nowruz. For Christians, the custom of giving eggs for Easter is a symbol of Christ’s resurrection but it also dates back to the Pagan festival of Oestren.
The decoration of eggs is thought to date back to the 13th century but this has been one of the best loved and most enduring traditions.
My grandchildren have hours of fun painting eggs every Easter and our clever hens lay eggs with the children’s name on them in the Palais des Poulets every Easter Sunday.
Lovely Rosalie makes me an Easter tree and the Easter bunny hides chocolate eggs in tufts of daffodils around the Pond Garden.
From the cook’s perspective the egg is the quintessential fast food, cake bakers depend on it to create their magic and fancy chefs can create elaborate dishes, think Eggs Benedict and sauces like Hollandaise, Bernaise and Buerre blance.
But it’s all about the quality of the egg, a beautiful egg, freshly laid by happy lazy hens that forage around your garden or are moved around your lawn in their arc is quite a different thing to an egg produced in an intensive system both in terms of flavour and nutritional content.
I’m always encouraging anyone who will listen either in an urban or rural environment to consider getting a few hens.
They will convert all your food scraps into delicious eggs a few days later, provide chicken manure to activate compost so you can grow lots of nourishing produce in your garden and a freshly boiled egg with soldiers will taste like a ‘forgotten flavour’.
We’ve been enjoying them with the first of the new season’s asparagus to use as dippers, utterly sublime and the earliest ever.
I’ve included a recipe for Eggs Benedict but I have to tell you that Christine Crowley’s Egg Benedict at the Shanagarry Pottery Café is the best ever.
We’ve also been serving them with some of the kale sprouts which cook to melting tenderness in boiling, well salted water.
I also love an egg fried in extra virgin olive oil with sage leaves or a deep fried egg all crispy on the outside and soft and gooey in the centre.
Maybe drizzle it with a spicy tomato sauce or a little wild garlic pesto in season at present.
A little cheese soufflé is also impressive and super easy to make, a delicious little starter or a perfect main course.
- 2 fresh freerange organic eggs
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- a few pats of butter
- 1 slice of fresh best quality white loaf bread
- 6-8 spears fresh Irish asparagus
First prepare and cook the asparagus. Hold each spear of asparagus over your index finger down near the root end, it will snap at the point where it begins to get tough.
Some people like to peel the asparagus but we rarely do.
Tie similar-sized bundles of asparagus in bundles with raffia. Choose a tall saucepan.
Cook in about 2.5cm of boiling salted water (1 teaspoon salt to every 600ml) in an oval cast iron casserole. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes or until a knife tip will pierce the root end easily.
Drain and serve immediately. If serving cold, refresh in cold water and drain again.
Next, bring a small saucepan of water to the boil, gently slide in the eggs, bring the water back to the boil and simmer gently for 4-6 minutes, according to your taste.
A four-minute egg will be still quite soft, five minutes will almost set the white while the yolk will still be runny, 6 minutes will produce a boiled egg with a soft yolk and solid white.
As soon as the eggs are cooked, pop them into egg cups, put the asparagus soldiers on the side and serve with a pepper mill, sea salt and a few pats of butter.
This recipe is a combination of two, ‘forgotten skills’: poaching eggs and making Hollandaise sauce (which also involves eggs). It is the perfect breakfast for a lazy Easter weekend.
- 4 organic eggs
- 4 slices good sourdough bread or 2 English muffins or 2 bagels
- butter
- 4 slices home-cooked ham or 8 rashers good bacon, cooked
- Hollandaise Sauce
- 2 organic egg yolks
- 125g (5oz) butter, cut into dice
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
First, make the Hollandaise sauce and keep it warm.
Put the egg yolks in a heavy, stainless-steel saucepan on a low heat or in a bowl over hot water.
Add 2 teaspoons of water and whisk thoroughly. Add the butter bit by bit, whisking all the time. As soon as one piece melts, add the next piece.
The mixture will gradually thicken, but if it shows signs of becoming too thick or slightly scrambling, remove from the heat immediately and add a little cold water to cool it quickly.
Do not leave the pan or stop whisking until the sauce is made.
Finally add the lemon juice to taste.
If the sauce is slow to thicken it may be because you are excessively cautious and the heat is too low.
Increase the heat slightly and continue to whisk until the sauce thickens to coating consistency.
It is important to remember that if you are making Hollandaise sauce in a saucepan directly over the heat, it should be possible to put your hand on the side of the saucepan at any stage.
If the saucepan feels too hot for your hand, then it is also too hot for the sauce.
Another good tip if you are making Hollandaise sauce for the first time is to keep a bowl of cold water close by so you can plunge the base of the saucepan into it if becomes too hot.
Next poach the eggs. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil.
Reduce the heat, swirl the water, crack the egg into a tiny bowl and slip the egg gently into the whirlpool in the centre.
This avoids getting the tips of your fingers burned as you drop the egg into the water.
The water should not boil again but bubble very gently just below boiling point.
Cook for about 3–4 minutes, until the white is set and the yolk is still soft and runny.
Meanwhile, toast or chargrill the bread, muffins or bagels. Slather a little butter on the hot bread and lay a slice of ham or freshly cooked crispy bacon on the base.
Lift out the poached egg or eggs on a perforated spoon; drain and place on top of the toast.
Coat generously with the Hollandaise sauce and serve immediately.
A perfect soufflé omelette is a special treat and takes only a few minutes longer to make than a French omelette, but it is well worth the effort.
- 3 organic eggs, separated
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons finely grated cheese – Gruyère, Parmesan, Irish farmhouse cheese or a mixture
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped chives or spring onion tops (optional)
- 25g (1oz/1/4 stick) butter
- omelette pan, preferably non-stick, 23cm (9 inch) in diameter
Whisk the egg yolks until light. Season well with salt and pepper, and add the cheese and chives, if using.
Whisk the egg whites until they hold a stiff peak, stir a little of the whites into the yolks, then very lightly, very carefully fold in the rest with a metal spoon.
Melt the butter in the omelette pan, shaking it gently so that the sides are covered with butter, too, and as it foams turn in the egg mixture and level it off with a palette knife.
Cook the omelette very gently for about 3–4 minutes.
The bottom should be golden when you lift the omelette with the palette knife to have a peek, and it should have started to fluff up.
Then put the pan under a grill about 10cm (4 inch) from the element.
Cook very gently for 3–4 minutes longer, until the omelette is well risen and just set.
Remove at once, loosen the edges with the palette knife, and if you want to fold it over, first score it lightly across the centre.
Then turn it out gently onto a hot plate and serve with a green salad.
This technique takes a bit of practice but the crispy white is irresistible.
- extra virgin olive oil, sunflower or peanut oil
- really fresh organic eggs
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- croutons
- Tomato and Chilli Jam (see recipe)
- rocket leaves
Heat the oil in a deep-sided frying pan. It should be really hot, test by dropping in a tiny cube of bread — it should brown in seconds.
Break an egg into the hot oil. Tilt the pan immediately so the egg slides down into a pool of oil.
Use a tablespoon to lift the white over the yolk so the yolks is completely enclosed between two layers of white.
This will prevent the yolk from overcooking and allow the white to get deliciously crisp and slightly golden. Cook for a minute or two more.
Lift the egg out of the oil with a perforated spoon, drain well on kitchen paper.
Serve on warm crisp croutons with tomato and chilli jam and some rocket leaves.
This zingy jam is great with everything from fried eggs to cold meat.
It’s terrific on a piece of chicken breast or fish or spread on bruschetta with goat’s cheese and rocket leaves.
2 large pot or 4 small pots
- 1kg very ripe tomatoes
- 4-8 red chillies
- 8 cloves of garlic, peeled
- about 5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 50ml fish sauce (Nam Pla)
- 500g golden castor sugar
- 200ml red wine vinegar
Peel the tomatoes and chop into 1cm dice. Purée the chillies, garlic, ginger and fish sauce in a blender.
Put the purée, sugar and vinegar into a stainless steel saucepan, add the tomatoes and bring to the boil slowly, stirring occasionally.
Cook gently for 30-40 minutes, stirring every now and then to prevent sticking.
When cooked pour into warmed, sterilised glass jars. Allow to cool. Store in the fridge.
A new Farmers Market has recently opened at the Ballyseedy Home & Garden in Carrigtwohill featuring Green Saffron, Rostellan Chocolate, Annie’s Roasts, Joe’s Crisps, Ardsallagh Cheese, Arbutus Breads, Little Apple Juice, Ballintubber Fruit and Veg, Ballycotton Seafood and many more. It runs every Wednesday from 9am to 2pm.
www.ballyseedy.ie 021-4881010
Visit Fota House and Gardens on April 14 and 15. Discover clues amongst the trees and wildlife that will bring you to your own chocolate egg.
www.fotahouse.com//whatson
Staying with Fota House the annual Plant and Garden Fair is on Sunday, April 23, from 11am-4pm and is recognised as the biggest Plant and Garden fair outside of Dublin.
There will be many specialist nurseries with unusual and special plants. Admission is €8 part of which will be donated to Friends of Marymount Hospice.
Phone Margaret Martin or Maura Geary on 021 4815543 or Margaret@irishheritagetrust.ie for more information.
