Full Gastronomic Tilt

Even novice cooks know the high mistress of kitchen mastery: Julia Child. Many see her freewheeling encyclopedic knowledge as an inspiration for them to move beyond the basics of peel, chop, dice, blend and assemble.

I am not one of them.

Every time I see a recipe title in French I involuntarily curse, shuddering ever so slightly.
The reason why is anyone’s guess. Maybe there’s a subconscious intimidation factor at work or I automatically assume that there’s some sort of challenge involved well beyond my skill level.

It’s silly, I know. You’re probably laughing.
Go ahead. I’ll wait ’til you’re finished.

Hey, some people have an irrational fear of frying, making pastry dough, or using food processors. Mine is preparing French food. Or perhaps it is just food with French titles. Many dishes that I have made likely have French origins and I simply haven’t realized it. But I see a title in French and I break out in a cold sweat.

I am bound and determined to move past that fear, so I’m starting small. In this case, with oeufs au nid* or baked eggs in a mashed potato nest. Simple, rustic and filling. I added sliced green onion (white and light green part only) and smoked paprika for a fuller flavor, as well as what I thought was too much salt, but in the end it could have used more.

*Not being a native or even secondary French speaker, I asked Nikki how this dish was pronounced. It’s something like ooofs aw nee. We’re assuming that “nid” translates to nest. We are the knights who say…

Oeufs au nid turned out to be easy to make and satisfying to eat. I don’t know what I was worried about!

Notes: Recipe called for a 1 1/2 quart baking dish. I only had a quart-size handy, so I reduced the eggs from 4 to 3 and ended up with some leftover potatoes. Also only used about 3 Tablespoons butter, 2 in the potatoes and 1 to finish the dish. The original recipe calls for a pinch of nutmeg. You can include it if desired, but I strongly dislike nutmeg in anything savory and as a rule do not use it.

(I know what you must be thinking - hm, doesn’t look like anything special.
But if you look more closely you can see the green onion crispy bits and the eggy goodness.
It was tasty. Just trust me.)

Baked Eggs in a Mashed Potato Nest (Oeufs au nid)
adapted from One Potato, Two Potato

serves 2

Ingredients

1 1/2 - 1 3/4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and chunked
Kosher salt
4 T (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup milk or cream
Freshly ground black pepper
4 large eggs
1/4 cup shredded cheese, about 1 ounce (recipe suggests Gruyere or cheddar, I used havarti)
4 sliced green onions, white and light green part
1 clove garlic, minced
smoked paprika

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a medium oval gratin dish or a 1 1/2 quart baking dish.

Put the potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with cold water by an inch, add a good pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain the potatoes, return to the pot and cook over medium heat for a minute or two, stirring constantly. This dries the potatoes out some, which I prefer.

Remove the potatoes from heat and mash with a hand masher. Beat in 2 T butter with a wooden spoon, then beat in the milk one-third at a time, stirring vigorously. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in the minced garlic and half the green onions. You would add the nutmeg at this point if you were using it.

Spoon the mashed potatoes into the gratin or casserole dish and smooth them with the back of a spoon. Make 4 deep holes in the potatoes, each large enough to fit an egg. I dug my holes all the way down to the bottom of the dish and it worked well. It’s important that the “nests” are large enough to hold the eggs without spilling over.

Drop a bit of the remaining butter into each hole and then crack an egg into it. Season the eggs with salt and pepper, then scatter the grated cheese and remaining scallions over the top. Sprinkle with smoked paprika.

Bake about 15 minutes - until the cheese is melted and the egg whites are set. The eggs will continue to cook after the dish comes out from the oven. Divide between two plates and serve immediately.

Related: I just finished reading Kathleen Flinn’s The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry, about her experiences at Le Cordon Bleu. I loved it. Her insight into the challenges faced by green culinary school students is remarkable. The French approach to food is marvelously intentional. Whether in the form of a carefully made stock or a specifically sectioned chicken, every dish requires a strong foundation.