GREEN EGGS AND HAM APPETIZER

Servings 4

Author Eric

Ingredients

4 eggs
450 g spinach
270 g slab bacon
300 g chicken bouillon
60 g butter , 50g for the bacon bouillon and 10g for the spinach purée
Salt
Cayenne pepper

Instructions

METHOD FOR EGGS

Boil the eggs for 4 minutes.
Run under cold water and peel immediately, return to the water briefly to reheat. It’s easy to overcook the eggs during this process. You can use a cake tester to check that the egg yolks are still runny. They shouldn’t take longer than 3 minutes to reheat.

METHOD FOR BACON BOUILLON

Preheat oven to 220°C.
Roast the bacon until the fat is rendered and a golden brown.
Cut 16 bacon lardons* (or about 240g) from the slab bacon for the garnish. You should use the best pieces in the center of the slab as the rest is solely a flavoring agent.
Use the remaining bacon, (about 30g) and add to 300g of chicken bouillon. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove from heat, cover with plastic wrap and allow to infuse for 15 minutes.
Strain.
Heat and mount with the 50g of butter before you plate. Be careful not to get the broth too hot as the butter will break and slowly add your butter while whisking.

METHOD FOR SPINACH PURÉE

Blanch spinach for 5 minutes.
Shock.
Drain and blend.
Heat to order and season with cayenne, 10g butter and salt.
The desired consistency should be thin enough to be smooth and thick enough to hold its form and hold the egg.

Recipe Notes

*Lardons are what the French refer to a small, uniform rectangular cuts of bacon. The perfect lardon for this dish (and in general) is the size of a pinky finger from the last joint to the end of the nail. This obviously varies a bit, but I prefer to make them slightly larger. Luckily, I have some fat pinkies so it’s justified.