Hi! Asparagus season is here in the UK so I'm enjoying it A LOT at the mo. One of my favourite ways to eat it is dipped in eggs and rather fortuitously a friend dropped round some of their neighbours duck eggs yesterday so I have been dreaming about this lunch since then!
Skip down for the recipe below or get this for a food styling win - I had a happy accident when boiling the eggs!
I boiled two duck eggs, for 5 minutes, when I took one out to test it it was slightly undercooked still, but of course I'd cracked it open and taken its top off to look inside so that was that. I decided then that whatever happened that would be the egg to have in the egg cup, and carried on assuming that the other one would be perfect by now and I'd be able to top it up with the other egg to bring the yolk over the sides and get a look of full yolk inside at the angle I was shooting at, probably 3/4 ish, or from the 'diners eye' viewpoint.
When I opened the second egg (which had already been sitting in the boiling water about 2 minutes more at this point) it was slightly over cooked, argh! BUT this gave me a great 'egg lid' when I took the top off. So the lesson here children is - an overcooked egg yolk has it's uses too! I think it looks great propped up next to the opened, dippy egg!
And if you were wondering, I was still able to top egg number one up with the runny yolk from this egg - it wasn't THAT overdone! Accidentally perfect.
Its not much of a recipe, more of an assembling job, but it is very tasty so here goes.
Charred Asparagus, Parmigiano Reggiano and Boiled Duck Egg Recipe
Per person -
8 sticks of British asparagus (these were from M&S and are Royal Crown ones from Wye Valley, but I spotted some at my local grocers this morning so will be going there tomorrow!)
2 eggs (always free range or even better home reared or organic!)
Good sprinkling of Parmigiano Reggiano or another full flavoured, slightly salty hard cheese
Method -
Heat a griddle or heavy frying pan with your favourite oil to cook with.
Bring enough water to cover your eggs to boil in a pan. Reduce heat to a simmer and place your eggs in to cook. Set your timer for the kind of eggs you like - 3 minutes for usual sized hen eggs or 6 minutes for duck eggs for me!
Immediately after the eggs have gone in place the asparagus in the hot pan and leave sizzling for 3 minutes or until they are starting to char a nice dark brown. Turn and cook the other side for another 3 minutes. I prefer to leave them with a bit of bite to them, not overcooked. Season and toss in the pan before plating.
Serve the eggs immediately and take the tops of all of them to try to slow your second egg overcooking itself. Sprinkle grated or shaved cheese over the asparagus.
Voila! Hope you enjoy, Sophie xx
Oh and if you're interested in the photography bit! I shot this at approx 3/4 back lit with natural light, on my Canon 6D, 50mm lens at f/2.2 aperture, IOS 160 and 1/250 shutter speed. Of course edited slightly too!
Shot on my Paris concrete/stone effect printed photography backdrop.
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