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'1,080 Recipes': Soft-Cooked Eggs With Anchovy-Trout Butter

Posted by Jenn Smith, December 4, 2007 at 5:30 PM

As I noted yesterday, it is the combination of uncomplicated procedure and rich flavor that recommends 1080 Recipes, rather than its success as a calling card for the glories of contemporary Spanish cuisine.

In addition to the recipes for ingredients that are unusual to the contemporary American home cook, 1,080 Recipes has a broad section dedicated to that simplest of proteins, the egg. This is noteworthy in part because there is something so deliciously European about combining this basic ingredient with powerful flavors like anchovies and chicken livers, and in part because these recipes are easy, elegant meals for weeknights. Coddled, poached, shirred, en cocotte: Each egg recipe I've tried has been a tasty success.

Soft Cooked Eggs

Pour enough water into a saucepan to cover all of the eggs (never more than six at a time) and add salt (1 tablespoon for 4 - 6 eggs). Bring to a boil, plunge in the eggs and cook for exactly 3 minutes.

Anchovy and Smoked Trout Butter

Ingredients

1 1/2 ounces canned anchovy fillets, drained
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 ounces smoked trout
4 slices bread
2 soft-cooked eggs

Procedure

1. Pound the anchovies in a mortar, or process in a mini-food processor, then mix with half the butter to a smooth paste. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl.

2. Put the trout and remaining butter into the food processor and process to a smooth paste. Toast the bread, then cut into lengthwise strips, about 3/4 inch wide. Spread half the strips with the anchovy butter and half with the smoked trout butter. Serve the soft-cooked eggs in egg cups, accompanied by the strips of buttered toast.

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Tags: cookbooks, eggs, Spanish