Florentine Style Soft Boiled Eggs

Florentine soft boiled eggs are the perfect dish to serve for an easy lunch. They’d also work great for a brunch or more formal luncheon.

Another way to serve eggs

The inspiration for this dish comes from a Jacques Pepin episode I happened to catch on YouTube. Not only does the recipe feature some of my favorite things– eggs– it was cooked in a lovely copper gratin dish.

In the video, Jacques demonstrated poking a hole in the round end of the egg and then lowering the egg into not quite boiling water. After 5 minutes, the eggs are drained and shaken in the pan to crack the shells then immersed in ice water to cool them and stop the cooking process.

The shells are very easy to remove under cold running water. You want to handle the eggs gently, but they are not as delicate as you’d think. Ideally, the whites are set and the yolk is runny like a soft boiled egg.

Anyway, I bookmarked the recipe with the intention of making it sometime for I Heart Cooking Clubs.

When I learned this week’s theme was Ladies’ Luncheon, Jacques’ Florentine Style Eggs came immediately to mind.

Spinach and Nutmeg; made for each other

Nutmeg has a warm, sweet quality that enhances the flavor of the greens and complements the cheesy sauce.

The flavor of this simple meal is awesome. Rick and I enjoyed them as a simple lunch, but they’re definitely company worthy. Call them oeufs mollets a la florentine if you want to impress your guests even more.

A meal fit for a Mother

The spinach can be prepared ahead of time and the mornay sauce can be made while the eggs are cooking and cooling.

I don’t recommend cooking the eggs ahead of time like I did. I had jammy rather than runny yolks because I didn’t cool my eggs in ice water before placing them in the fridge. There was enough residual heat left to continue to cook the yolks.

No worries, though. It was still delicious, we just missed out on mixing the yolk with the sauce and the spinach.

Florentine Soft Boiled Eggs

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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Course: Brunch, Main

Cuisine: French

Servings: 2 people

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs (2 per person)

For the spinach

• 10 ounces frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess water (or whatever size package available. See notes for using fresh spinach)
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1/4 tsp fresh nutmeg or to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

For the Mornay Sauce

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 cup half and half or light cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp grated gruyere or swiss cheese
• 1 large egg yolk

Instructions

For the eggs

• In a saucepan large enough to hold the eggs, bring a generous amount of water to a gentle boil
• Prick a hole in the round end of each egg. When the water is boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and gently drop the eggs into the water. (I used a slotted spoon)
• Let the eggs cook for 5 minutes or so, then drain the water. Shake the eggs in the pan to crack the shells. Transfer to an ice water bath.

  When cool enough to handle, shell the eggs under cold running water.

For the spinach

• Using medium heat, melt the butter in a large skillet until it begins to brown. Add the chopped spinach and stir to coat in the butter. Cook for a couple minutes to allow any remaining water to evaporate.

  Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

For the sauce

• Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan. Add the flour and stir to combine. Cook for a few minutes while stirring or whisking to prevent the flour from getting overly brown.

  Add the light cream and grated swiss cheese and stir until the sauce thickens.

  Allow to cool slightly before beating in the egg yolk.

  You want the sauce to be thick enough to protect the eggs from the broiler, but thin enough so it flows over the eggs. Add a little more cream if needed.

To assemble

• Preheat the broiler and move the tray about 6 inches away.
• Transfer the spinach to a broiler safe casserole dish. Arrange the eggs on top and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.

  Spoon the sauce over the eggs and spinach.
• Broil for 5 minutes or so to allow the eggs to warm though. The sauce will brown nicely on top.
• Serve right away with toast points.

Notes

If you’d rather use fresh spinach, buy about 2 pounds and remove the stems. Give it a good wash and wilt the greens by placing them in a large skillet with a lid. The water left from the washing will steam the spinach.

Squeeze the spinach with the tongs as you remove it to a chopping board to cut into smaller pieces.

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The best endorsement I can give for the meal is that Rick actually sat down and ate it. To be honest, I thought he wouldn’t want to eat it because it looks old fashioned. We both agreed a bit of cayenne would be a welcome touch.

We also agreed it would be easy to swap out the components of the dish. Poached eggs instead of soft boiled for example. Or serve over English muffins instead of toast points.

For a luncheon I would serve with Mimosas or Bloody Marys and perhaps a citrus salad.