Eggs and Soldiers

Lucian Freud's 'Four Eggs on a Plate' (2002)

If I think of eggs, I think of my father. The two are inextricably linked. He owns chickens firstly, but he also knows a surprising amount about chicken habits and eggs (such as, did you know feeding chickens their egg shells helps shell strength? Or that feeding them certain foods ensures a more golden yolk?), he is also extraordinarily good at poaching eggs. I won’t get into that, as it’s probably one of the most hotly debated subjects on the internet and something I have inexplicably strong feelings about. 

Eggs deserve multiple blog posts, so sorry if that’s a bit dry but here we are, on my daily blog, (I can’t promise it won’t be dry again...) 

Now, boiled eggs. A perfectly boiled egg, in a pretty egg cup, on a sunny day. That is joy. It’s inviting glistening centre, surrounded by pure untouched white, flecked with pepper. Everyone seems to have their own nostalgia with a boiled egg which emerges during the process of cooking and consuming. Opinions flying around the kitchen or breakfast table. How long to boil it for? How to cut off the top? Do you smash with a little spoon, or use a knife? Or use egg topper scissors? (Yes I have a pair, and sorry, but the little spoon is always the most fun). 

It’s our time to be children again; the smashing, the crafting of little soldiers - bristled rectangles of (normally, let’s be honest) slightly burnt bread standing to attention on the plate, the crumb-coated greasy fingers after. I’ve grown up of late, and have butter and marmite on rye soldiers, but the unadulterated joy is truly in having ‘shit’ white bread and butter soldiers. My inner critic would just never let me. 

So here we are, my recipe for the perfect boiled eggs: jammy yolk on the perimeter, fully cooked white and enough runny yolk for dipping a soldier and a half. For the rest, it’s you and your little spoon. Have fun! 

• Step into the kitchen

• Take a pan and fill with just boiled water

• Set to a simmer 

• Drop in your egg (use a teaspoon - ideally the one you’re going to eat with to save washing up) NOTE: my eggs are kept in the fridge so the next part is with that in mind. If yours aren’t, I’d knock off 30 seconds - 1 minute. 

• Once the water is simmering again with the egg, set a timer to 6 minutes.

• Get that toast on

• Remove your egg once the 6 minutes is up and place in your pretty egg cup. 

• Enjoy! 

Soldier ideas:

Marmite and butter 

Cheese and Worcestershire sauce (aka cheese on toast) 

Gochuchang (Korean chilli paste) on Rye (you need some nuttiness here from a crispy rye bread)

Rubbed garlic (literally take a clove and rub it on the toast before slicing and drizzle in a bit of olive oil)