BY MYRA KOHN
From Edible Seattle March/April 2011
If you are having friends for cocktails or brunch, these are quite impressive. The key is to use the freshest eggs (local and organic, if possible) and highest quality anchovies you can find. We got beautiful eggs at our neighborhood butcher shop and purchased a tin of traditional style Spanish anchovies. Filleted by hand, matured in barrels for six months, then packed in extra virgin olive oil, these tasted bright and briny and worked better than the salt-packed kind.
Soft Boiled Eggs with Anchovy Mayonnaise
4 Servings
Start to Finish: 40 minutes
Recipe
6 large fresh eggs
kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper
juice of 1/2 lemon
Anchovy Mayonnaise (recipe follows)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Steps
Put the eggs in a pot and cover them entirely with water. Remove the eggs, and bring the water to a soft boil. While the water is heating, prepare an ice-water bath by combining generous amount of ice and water in a large mixing bowl, and set the water bath aside.
When the water has reached a boil, gently lower the eggs into the water with a strainer or slotted spoon and cook for exactly 7 minutes. Immediately transfer the eggs to the ice bath. When cool, shell the eggs (shelling under running water might make it easier if the shells are hard to remove). Halve the eggs lengthwise and place on a platter. The yolks will be thick and soft.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Squeeze a few drops of lemon juice over each half. Place a dollop of the mayonnaise on each one, about one teaspoon. Sprinkle parsley over the eggs and serve.
Anchovy Mayonnaise
Recipe
1 fresh egg yolk
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
juice of 1/2 a lemon
5 anchovy fillets
1 1/2 cups canola oil
kosher salt
Steps
Place the egg yolk, water, mustard, lemon juice and anchovy fillets in a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. With the motor running, add the oil in a slow, steady stream. Season to taste with salt.
Myra’s Notes: The anchovy mayonnaise recipe is quite generous. The recipe renders enough for at least a triple batch of eggs. If you prefer a more intense anchovy flavor (I do!), two more fillets added to the recipe would do the trick. We had the leftover mayo with hand-cut French fries, instead of the usual aioli.
*gluten-free
*dairy-free
Recipe reprinted with permission from Ethan Stowell’s New Italian Kitchen by Ethan Stowell and Leslie Miller, copyright © 2010. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House.