whine & dine

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As I mentioned in my last post, I love eggs. Bunny’s got a colleague who’s been seconded to Singapore for the past few months, and will be leaving next month to return to a freezing cold winter and very little good (Asian) food – which he and his wife have both come to love. As such, we decided to host him (and another colleague) for dinner tonight, and I had quite a lot of fun playing around in the kitchen.

For our starters, I made the miniature eggs benedict again – this time, thankfully, remembering to include the bacon. Next up, I served my Bakkuttini (pictured below, with the burger) – a deconstructed version of bak kut teh, where I shred the meat and mix it with a reduction of the broth, pile it into a pyramid in the centre of a martini glass and serve the broth around it – which I chose because it’s my take on a very local dish, which apparently they haven’t had the chance to try (and are now dying to). S especially loved it – and by that I really mean the queen of puns was enamoured with the name, more than the dish. :P

The main course was a mini cheese burger, done the usual style with a slice of emmental melted over the top. Delightfully juicy patties, a sauce of Japanese mayo, chilli sauce, brown sauce and some worcestershire dolloped over the bun, a little rocket, thinly sliced cherry tomatoes, all encased in a mini butter roll.

After a palate cleanser of orange sorbet came the highlight of the meal – Reconstructed Lemon Eggs (pictured at start of post). Now, I’ve been wanting to try this – and a whole bunch of other recipes – from Michel Richard’s Happy In The Kitchen. There are so many ridiculously innovative and creative ideas in there; the book completely blew my mind when I first started flipping through it. My favourite part of the book is when Richard explores the concept of trompe l’oeil, or playing tricks on the eye – that is when he has an item which looks like something, but is actually a completely different entity. For example, I can’t wait to try his Virtual Egg – something that looks exactly like half a hard-boiled egg, but really has mozzarella cheese for the “egg white” and yellow tomato for the “yolk”.

Today, I stuck with something a lot easier. The reconstructed lemon eggs are essentially a layer of lemon curd, sandwiched between two layers of meringue and served in an egg shell, so that when you dip your spoon in, it’s almost like eating a soft boiled egg. They’re really easy to make and taste divine, and I’d encourage anyone who’s entertaining soon and looking to impress (without killing yourself in the kitchen) to give it a shot.


Reconstructed Lemon Egg
(adapted from Happy In The Kitchen)

6 large eggs
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used the juice from about 3 medium sized lemons)
25g unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Special equipment:
a cardboard egg carton
egg topper or serrated knife
disposable piping bags
blowtorch

Preheat the oven to 120°C.

Cut off the narrow end of each egg. I started out using an egg topper, but it didn’t work too well, so if you don’t have one (or don’t have one that works well), lay your egg on a towel, and saw halfway through using a serrated knife firmly but gently. Hold the egg upright, and remove and discard the tops. Empty the contents into a bowl, and separate two of the egg yolks from the egg whites, and reserve the other four whole eggs for another use. Ensure that the whites are completely free of yolk – if any of the yolks broke, use “clean” whites from the other eggs. Cover the bowl containing egg whites with clingfilm and set aside at room temperature. Place the yolks into a large heatproof bowl.

Wash out the shells, and pull the membrane out from the inside. Discard. Remove any chipped pieces from the edges of the shell, and discard. Turn the eggs upside down, place them in the egg carton, and place in the oven for a few minutes to dry out.

For the lemon curd, whisk 1/8 cup of the sugar into the yolks until pale and creamy. Add in the lemon juice, whisk, then place over a bain-marie and add the butter in one piece at a time. Carry on whisking until the curd has thickened to a thick custard (about 8 minutes), ensuring that the whisk comes into contact with the bottom of the bowl to ensure that none of the egg yolk gets overcooked. Press a piece of clingfilm down to the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming (but use a sharp knife to poke a couple of holes in the clingfilm so it can still “breathe”), and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until cold. This can be made up to 3 days in advance.

For the meringue, place the egg whites in the bowl of your KitchenAid stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and whisk on high speed until very foamy and fluffy (there should not be any liquid egg white at the bottom of the bowl anymore). Slowly start adding in the other 1/8 cup of sugar, and continue to beat on high until stiff, glossy peaks form.

Fill one piping bag (or large ziplock bag) with the meringue carefully, then fill the another with the lemon curd. Cut a small opening (about 1/4 inch in diameter) in the bags to pipe, or use 1/4-1/2 inch plain tips. Stand the dry egg shells, cut side up, in the egg carton. Pipe the meringue into the egg shells, filling each one about 1/3 fill. Pipe the lemon curd onto the whites so the shells are two-thirds full. Pipe more meringue, allowing it to mound over the top, making a small dome.

Brown the tops of the meringue with a blowtorch (or if you don’t have one, preheat your broiler with the rack in the upper third of the oven and place the carton on a baking sheet and under the broiler to brown the meringue). Serve immediately in individual egg cups.

Yield: Makes 6. One each was just about right for a small dessert at the end of a 5 course meal, but you can easily double this recipe – as it was originally intended to be – and serve each person two eggs. I just got a refill.