Asparagus souffle, mushroom tagliatelle, baked cheese croissants, apricot and lemon curd cake – seven delicious recipes that are as good as gold
I long to break into the freckled shell of a boiled egg and lift its snow white and deep orange heart with a teaspoon. I even find myself gazing at a fluffy omelette, its baveuse interior oozing out as the fork goes in. But alas, there is no cheque large enough to tempt me to eat an egg. Whether boiled, scrambled, poached or fried, the egg has always been my culinary bête noir. I like my oeufs well and truly hidden. Custard, cake, meringue or mayonnaise are among my favourite things to eat, as is a souffle, a creme caramel or a mousse, but the egg must always be in total disguise. I have been like this all my life and I reluctantly admit that, at this age, my aversion is unlikely to change.
But I don’t write this column for myself, I write it for you and, let’s be honest, most sensible people do find the egg one of the most indispensable ingredients in the kitchen. So eggs it is, cheap and as cheerful as a sunny spring morning. In the recipes that follow there are crisp golden croissants cooked in the style of eggy bread; eggs briefly baked with pink prawns and scarlet chillies, there are egg whites in a souffle and yolks in a peppercorn-spiked mayonnaise. I have also made a tender loaf cake with dried apricots and homemade lemon curd, and a garlic-flecked tangle of tagliatelle. Who knows, I may eat that boiled egg yet.
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