10 quail eggs 1 carrot 1 turnip 1 leek 3 slices applewood or maple bacon butter salt black pepper Cut the bacon slices in to thin pieces and cook to desired crunchiness. The carrot, turnip and leek should be cut brunoise style which means to finely dice them. Once that is done, each should be quickly blanched separately in boiling water and then placed in an ice bath to stop the cooking and retain the bright colors. Next step is to poach the quail eggs. Because of the size and relative hardness of the shells, it will be difficult to crack them like a normal egg. The better method is to cut the top off the shell using a sharp knife. Carefully make a cut all around the top of the shell on the fatter end of the egg and then peel off the top. Once done, you can simply pour the egg contents into the hot water. Again, because of the size of the eggs, you should not poach for longer than about 30-45 seconds. Otherwise, the egg will cook all the way through the yolk and you'll end up with an overcooked egg. Place the poached egg into an ice bath immediately upon removal from the hot water. Place a pat of butter in a saucepan on medium heat and add the bruoise trio. Add a couple pinches of salt to taste. Saute the brunoise for a few minutes and then remove from heat. You can also add the poached eggs to the saucepan at this time to heat them up a bit after the ice bath. Put some of the brunoise into a spoon. Place an egg on top of the brunoise. Top with some bacon and black pepper. |
Christmas '09 Dinner >