sous vide: egg

After steak and salmon, the next protein we tackled was eggs. This is where I think the sous vide machine really shines because eggs are even easier to overcook than meat and seafood. I mean, if you're trying to do a batch of soft-boiled eggs, forget about it, the sous vide machine is the way to go.



For soft-boiled eggs, 150F for 30 minutes.

While the eggs were cooking, we each got to work cooking the rest of the brunch dish that the egg was going to top. Namely, bacon (or lardo)-wrapped asparagus, frisee salad and shallot vinaigrette.

I chose bacon because of the higher meat ratio and because it was better for wrapping. The asparagus was blanched, wrapped in half-cooked bacon, then fried some more with garlic and thyme.



The frisee I tossed in shallot vinaigrette (shallot, olive oil, champagne vinegar, salt and pepper) and plated in a shallow bowl (to reflect the roundness of the soft-boiled egg).



Besides placing the bacon-wrapped asparagus on top I also added some bits of compressed cantaloupe (vacuum-sealed so less watery and more flavor-intensive). The bacon made me think of proscuitto, which goes with melon.



On top we had the option of shaved bottarga, which is cured fish roe but when shaved adds a savory/salty dimension, like what Parmesean cheese does. Of course then I added some shaved Parmesean as well. Once the soft-boiled egg went on top I sprinkled some smoked paprika on too.



Soft-boiled eggs are hard to plate. Mine slid halfway off the mound of frisee, so in retrospect I should have made a bigger hole for it to sit in. This is a very rich dish, not what I would normally eat, but delicious with an extra helping of shallot vinaigrette to cut through all the richness. Very good for brunch.