Categories: Eggs and Breakfast

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup half-and-half
• 10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup)
• Salt and pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• Vegetable oil spray
• 6 large eggs

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees.

2. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in half-and-half; bring mixture to boil, whisking constantly. Simmer, whisking frequently, until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in spinach, Parmesan, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, mustard, nutmeg, and cayenne.

3. Lightly spray six 6-ounce ramekins with oil spray. Evenly divide spinach filling among ramekins. Using back of spoon, push filling 1 inch up sides of ramekins to create 1/8-inch-thick layer. Shape remaining filling in bottom of ramekin into 1 1/2-inch diameter mound, making shallow indentation in center of mound large enough to hold yolk. Place filled ramekins in 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish. Bake until filling just starts to brown, about 7 minutes, rotating dish halfway through baking.

4. While filling is heating, crack eggs (taking care not to break yolks) into individual cups or bowls. Remove baking dish with ramekins from oven and place on wire rack. Gently pour eggs from cups into hot ramekins, centering yolk in filling. Lightly spray surface of each egg with oil spray and sprinkle each evenly with pinch salt. Return baking dish to oven and bake until whites are just opaque but still tremble (carryover heat will cook whites through), 6 to 8 minutes, rotating dish halfway through baking.

5. Remove dish from oven and, using tongs, transfer ramekins to wire rack. Let stand until whites are firm and set (yolks should still be runny), about 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

6. TO MAKE AHEAD: Follow recipe through step 3, skipping baking of lined ramekins. Wrap ramekins with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days. To serve, remove plastic and heat lined ramekins, directly from refrigerator, for additional 3 to 4 minutes (10 to 11 minutes total) before proceeding with recipe.

7. TECHNIQUE – DEAD ENDS ON THE PATH TO PERFECTION: The inherent challenge in achieving a perfectly cooked baked egg is that the yolk needs to stay liquid (with a temperature hovering around 150 degrees) while the white needs to solidify (with a temperature of 165 degrees). Here are some of the wrong turns we took before getting both components to cook just right. BAKED IN WATER BATH THEORY: Water slows the heat transfer, giving the whites time to solidify without overcooking the yolks. OUTCOME: Perfect whites; pasty yolks. BAKED IN SALT BED THEORY: Salt is an even better insulator than water, providing the yolks with more protection. OUTCOME: Perfect whites; slightly less pasty yolks. BAKED IN BLAZING HOT RAMEKINS THEORY: The walls of preheated ramekins should give the whites a head start without harming the yolks. OUTCOME: Perfect yolks; blistered whites.

8. TECHNIQUE – A CRADLE FOR YOUR EGG: Our key to perfect baked eggs: cradling them in preheated ramekins lined with a filling. The hot filling gives the whites just the right jump start on cooking, allowing them to set while the yolks remain runny. To ensure that the yolk stays centered (and away from the heat of the ramekin walls), we mound some of the filling in the middle of the ramekin and create a cavity that holds the yolk in place.

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