Sous Vide Egg, Asparagus, Créme Fraîche au Fines Herbs and Butter Fried Croutons à la Thomas Keller

The yolk in this egg is truly surreal

Oh, so many plans and so little time. The two weeks I was given the Sous Vide Supreme to test and review has simply flown by. I have done only meat. No vegetables. Didn’t do the other brisket or the pork belly, as planned… and the time is nigh. I have only a couple of hours left and must return it. I have decided to do a Thomas Keller recipe from his cookbook: Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide.

What a gem of a recipe. The entire cookbook is a must read for anyone interested in sous vide cooking. I could not put it down. I didn’t have a lot of the ingredients, but he does let you know where to access them. In any case, I used Vital Green Farms 52% Cream from Planet Organic and made my own Crème Fraiche. I used the herbs from my garden which was absolutely thrilling. I had all but the chervil.

This is the sauce that is the foundation for this dish.

I scrambled to Tree Stone Bakery first thing in the morning to get some fresh brioche. I really tried to order it in advance so I could have one big loaf to work with. I called and left messages, but none were ever returned, so I used the little muffin sized ones, and therefore, left the crusts on. Absolutely gorgeous croutons. Thank you, Thomas, but I have actually made these, at least, before… but not with your helpful tips!

I plated the blanched and chilled asparagus on top of each plate when the eggs were done, just moments before service.

The eggs had been carefully ladled into the sous vide water oven to cook for one hour at 144.5ºF. The problem her was the precision of the temperature as this is a flaw of the Sous Vide Supreme. It is accurate within one degree. I had tested the eggs prior so knew I had to watch and juggle the timing. If the machine I had was set at 144ºF, it was consistently cooking at 143.5ºF. If set at 145ºF, it was consistently cooking at 145.5ºF. So, I watched it carefully for the hour and did the best I could to keep it at 144.5ºF. The white was not velvety in my test, nor in my final product, as Keller’s was – but the yolk, ooooh, the yolk… it was perfect.

I did crack the egg onto a separate plate and discarded the watery white, keeping the velvety bits with the yolk.

I followed the remainder of the recipe instructions, garnishing with chive flowers instead of herbs.

The yolk was cheesy and the substance very new to me. I was wild about it, but some of my guests were squeamish and did not attempt it. I was really surprised at that. I guess I have been widening my horizons and keeping company of so many foodies, I have lost a little perspective. In any case, this was a tremendous plate, in my opinion. For this alone, I would buy this machine.

The eggs were from Sunworks Farm, and yes, the asparagus was the tail end of Edgar’s this year!

Soft Boiled Hen Egg with Green Asparagus, Crème Fraiche au Fines Herbs, and Butter Fried Croutons

Ingredients for four servings:

• 135g crème fraiche
• 3g chives, minced
• 3g chervil, minced (didn’t have any)
• 3g flat leaf parsley, minced
• 1g tarragon, minced
• 5g water
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 large organic farm fresh eggs, cold
• 28 spears asparagus, medium
• 15-20g unsalted butter
• 30g brioche, 1/8 inch cubes, crustless (I used the crusts)
• Kosher salt
• Herb leaves for garnish (I used chive flowers)
• Fleur de sel
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions for the Sauce:

1. Put crème fraiche in small bowl and stir in minced herbs; add water
2. Season to taste with salt and pepper; chill until ready to serve

Instructions for the Eggs:

1. Using a skimmer, gently lower the eggs in to the water bath preheated to 62.5 C (144.5 F) for one hour (this gives the yolk extraordinary texture; the white is velvety while the yolk is neither runny, nor hard, but soft, creamy and brightly coloured)

Instructions for the Asparagus:

1. Break off tough ends of each spear; peel the asparagus from below the tip to the bottom; line up spears and trim so all are of equal length; divide into four piles of 7 facing the same way
2. Blanch until just tender 6 minutes before serving; chill in an ice bath, remove from water and dry on C-fold towels (I did this earlier in the day, and folded spears in towels, refrigerated for service)

Instructions for the Croutons

1. Heat 15g butter in a pan large enough to hold brioche cubes in single layer
2. When butter begins to foam, add brioche, and season with salt
3. Keep cubes moving to brown evenly; if butte begins to brown, add another 5 g of butter to stop the butter from browning and darkening the croutons
4. When they are golden brown, strain on a c-fold towel; set aside

At Service:

1. Spread 1/4of the sauce on each serving plates; arrange 7 spears on each plate to form a bed for the poached egg (I used 5)
2. Crack each egg over an empty plate as you would crack a raw egg; with a spoon, gently lift the egg letting a towel absorb any excess water; place over the asparagus
3. Sprinkle with croutons, herbs, and fleur de sel and pepper