Ever since reading Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, I have become slightly obsessed with coddled eggs. Which is a bit strange, as they are only mentioned once in passing.

It started, though, because I didn’t know what they were. Once I knew – it is a way of cooking eggs by gently steaming them – I had to give it a go, despite the fact that I didn’t have an Egg Coddler. Luckily Martha Stewart came to the rescue, offering baby food jars and tea cups as alternatives. I decided to use a ramekin and this has worked really well.

There really isn’t a lot to coddling eggs, you simply coat your dish in a little butter to stop the egg sticking, add the egg, put the dish in an inch of simmering water and cover (I use the pan lid but have also used tin-foil and parchment paper – thank you Martha for this suggestion as well). You then leave the egg to cook in the gently simmering water for 8 – 10 minutes until the whites are cooked and then serve.

The ease is one of the reasons I like them but I also like that you can add other ingredients to make them different each time. This morning, I used spinach, cheese and a little crème fraiche, topped with salt, pepper and spring onion and am already planning on Sage for my next attempt.

Sorry the photos aren’t much better but I took on my phone and food photography isn’t something I normally do. However, I can promise they are very tasty and easy too. Enjoy!

Emma

This post is linking in with Weekend Cooking with Beth Fish Reads, a weekly anything related to food meme.