Reduce the heat to a simmer and use the following timings for large eggs: Slowly lower the eggs into the water using a spoon – don’t just drop them.īring a large pan of water to the boil and lower in the eggs in a single layer. You can also use an egg pricker or pin to make a very small hole in each egg before boiling, which will reduce the chance of it cracking in the heat. Make sure your eggs aren’t fridge-cold (if your eggs are fridge-cold, add 30 seconds to each timing below) – eggs at room temperature will have less of a shock when put into hot water and will therefore be less likely to crack. The timings below are for large eggs – cook for 30 seconds less for a medium egg and 30 seconds more for an extra-large egg. To boil an egg accurately, make sure it is not fridge-cold and use a timing suitable for the size.
However, with a bit of trial and error, you can find the method that suits you. Because eggs cook from the outside in, the whites are liable to overcooking. You can also start by cooking in cold water or add the eggs to boiling water. There is no absolute foolproof way to perfectly boil an egg as, each time, the size and temperature of the egg may vary. Should you start with cold or boiling water? Eggs with this kind of centre are also prized for the centres of scotch eggs. This means the yolk is still slightly soft and hasn’t turned hard and chalky. Eggs used to be boiled until they were completely cooked for use in sandwiches and salads, but now they are often cooked until the white is just set and yolk is ‘jammy’. Recipe taken from Nature by Alain Ducasse (published by Hardie Grant, £25, Hardback).How long an egg takes to boil depends entirely on how runny you'd like the yolk and white to be. Arrange on the serving dish.Īlain Ducasse likes to include his ingredient quantities in the recipe method, so you'll find them both there and in our ingredients list. To finish your dish: when the rice is cooked, tip it into a bowl, then lift and turn it over several times with a spatula, whilst adding 5 tablespoons of white wine vinegar, the seaweed and flaked vegetables.In a bowl or sauce boat, mix with the reserved teaspoon of wasabi and 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Make the sauce: take a large ladleful of the egg marinade and filter it through a tea strainer.Slice all these vegetables into thin flakes with a mandoline slicer and set aside. Cut the asparagus tips into 8 to 10 cm lengths. Clean 2 large mushrooms, peel and wash 1 carrot with its top and 4 green asparagus spears. Prepare the seaweed and flaked vegetables: while the rice is cooking, soak 1 tablespoon of seaweed in fresh water to eliminate the salt and then slice.Cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes then turn off the heat and leave the rice to swell in the basket for around ten minutes. Drain the rice and spread it evenly in the steamer basket.