Edmonton Cooks: Oeufs en Cocotte (The Common)

This post is part of the series: LET’S OM NOM Cooks Edmonton Cooks: Signature Recipes From the City’s Best Chefs. You can see the recipe list here or follow chronologically here.

Edmonton Cooks: Oeufs en Cocotte (The Common)

I’m not one to cook brunch at home but a good egg-centric recipe for breakfast is a welcome one in my books. It’s the reason why I decided to give The Common’s Oeufs en Cocotte with Proscuitto a try from the Edmonton Cooks cookbook.

Ingredients:

Ingredients for Oeufs en Cocotte

• Proscuitto
• Butter
• Gruyere
• Parmigiano Reggiano
• Chives
• Eggs
• Whipping Cream
• Bread Crumbs
• Boursin Cheese (Shallot and Chive Flavour)
• Chopped Garden Herbs

Sourcing Notes:

Any grocery store.

Recipe Notes:

“En Cocotte” is a method of baking eggs individually in a small container. A ramekin or mini round cocotte makes for the perfect baking vessel. They’re commonly buttered, with flavourings on the bottom and/or top, and then gently baked in an oven in a hot water bath, or bain-marie. There’s not much else to be said about baked eggs!

Cooking Notes:

Crisping Proscuitto

To make the proscuitto crisp: Preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place proscuitto slices onto the sheet. Place another layer of parchment paper and baking sheet on top to weigh the proscuitto down. Bake until mahogany coloured and crisp.

Coating with Butter & Bottom Toppings

Evenly coat ramekin or cocotte dishes with butter. Sprinkle Gruyère and Parmiagiano Reggiano and chives into each ramekin.

Cracking Eggs

Crack three eggs into each ramekin and then add cream.

Stirring Toppings

Sprinkle with salt and pepper, stir mixture slightly. Do not break the yolks.

Water Bath

Top each serving with more Gruyère and Parmigiano Reggiano and chives. Place each ramekin in a high-sided baking dish and fill with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake for 18 minutes or until egg yolks are cooked to your preference.

Edmonton Cooks: Oeufs en Cocotte with Proscuitto (The Common)

Place crisp piece of proscuitto on top of each ramekin and top with bread crumbs, crumbled Boursin cheese, and herbs. Finish with freshly ground black pepper.

Lessons:

Edmonton Cooks: Oeufs en Cocotte with Proscuitto (The Common)

I’m going to be entirely honest here. There was a phase in my life where every morning I would medium-boil two eggs, quickly peel them, sprinkle with togarashi, and shove them into my mouth before heading out the door. It was glorious. I’m sad that I’ve only actually discovered oeufs en cocotte now and how ridiculously quick it is. And so much more gratifying.

The recipe is rich and decadent from the use of Gruyère, Parmigiano Reggiano, and heavy cream. I love the use of chives, it’s a great concentration of onion flavours without having to bust out a bunch of scallions. I couldn’t for the love of me find my bigger ramekins so only two eggs fit in each serving, so I did cut back on the toppings before baking.

Edmonton Cooks: Oeufs en Cocotte with Proscuitto (The Common)

Joe wasn’t home that day to try the recipe, so I ended up putting a finished ramekin back in the fridge. The next morning, I microwaved it. Gasp, I know right? But it was just as delicious and doubly speedy! A win for my frantic mornings before work.

I feel like I should have some sort of ranking scale as to if I would make a recipe again. The Common’s Oeufs en Cocotte with Proscuitto is a definite make-again-soon-maybe-next-week kind of recipe. So delicious and so easy! It’s also the kind of recipe I’d make if I had guests over and staying the night. Baked eggs for everybody!

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