Recipe: Oeufs en Cocotte

The breakfast book - Dorset Cereals - oeufs cocotte — Oeufs en Cocotte, from The Breakfast Book by Dorset Cereals, published by Pavilion. Image photography by James Bowden

In order to review Dorset Cereals’ The Breakfast Book, I experimented with a selection of their great recipes and this one ended up on my daughters’ shortlist. Even if it hadn’t, I might have selected it because my mom used to make oeufs en cocotte when I was a kid. In hindsight it’s remarkable that neither my unruly brothers nor finicky I ever frowned at the green chive bits in the ramekins but I tell you, we kids loved our oeufs en cocotte. They were a treat and we gulped them down with the ferocious appetite of the child that’s been playing in the bushes and the trees all day. Now over to you, Dorset Cereals.

Here’s the recipe. Feel free to double or triple for more than two people.

Oeufs en Cocotte

This classic French recipe is a simple dish of baked eggs. The name ‘en cocotte’ refers to the dishes in which the eggs are cooked. The following recipe is the basic method for baking the eggs in ramekins. There are several variations. For example, you could sprinkle a dessert spoon of grated Cheddar cheese on top of the cream. Other ingredients you could include under the egg are lightly cooked asparagus tips, or wilted leeks. You could also use chopped smoked salmon or lightly cooked flakes of smoked haddock.

Serves 2
75g / 2½oz / 1/3 cup crème fraîche
freshly grated nutmeg
2 tbsp snipped fresh chives
2 large free-range eggs
sea salt and ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.

2. Season the crème fraîche with a pinch of nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Place a heaped tablespoon of crème fraîche in the bottom of a ramekin, followed by a sprinkling of chives, reserving a few for serving.

3. Crack an egg on top, then add a second tablespoon of crème fraîche and sprinkle with a pinch each of salt, pepper and nutmeg. Repeat with the other ramekin.

4. Place the ramekins in a baking dish and pour enough lukewarm water into the dish to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

5. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the egg yolks are set to your liking.