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10/22/2020 12:01 AMSome might look at this recipe from Ina Garten’s cookbook and say, “I don’t get it. Eggs on toast. I do that all the time.”
While true, and a fair point, that also might miss the subtle genius of Ina. She takes that which is simple and familiar, adds an unexpected ingredient or two, then explains a cooking technique you thought you understood (but you didn’t), and then she shows you how to plate it up so that it looks comforting and inviting.
If that sounds good to you, then you might want to check out Modern Comfort Food, her 12th cookbook which was recently released.
In the introduction, she says “food has an almost magical ability to comfort us, soothe us, and bring us together in so many ways.” Most of the recipes she includes are just the thing for when we want something special and don’t want something that will take us hours to cook and leave us with a sink full of dishes.
It’s true, some of these recipes, for anyone who has done any amount of cooking, may have an “I’ve done that before” feel to them.
And, there are so many great tips, techniques, and surprises tucked in with the familiar. She takes her mom’s split pea and hot dog soup and makes it with crispy kielbasa and lots of veggies. Her classic beef stew is amped up with a good red wine and cognac. Her BLT is packed with lobster, avocado, and thousand island dressing. Her applesauce cake is studded with bourbon plumped raisins.
As for the eggs on toast, my friend Kerry Holmes made it and had this to say about it in a recent Facebook post: “Genius is often so simple. Ina Garten’s new Modern Comfort Food comes at just the right time. Smashed Eggs on Toast is easily the best meal I’ve had in forever. Add coffee, ice water, vitamins, and a view of early morning fog over the marshes. I’m in full swoon.”
Smashed Eggs on Toast
From Modern Comfort Food by Ina Garten
Serves four
Ingredients:
8 cold extra-large eggs
8 1 ½ inch thick slices from a
white bread or Pullman loaf
4 tbsp. (½ stick) unsalted butter,
at room temperature
4 tsp. whole-grain mustard
4 tsp. minced fresh dill (optional)
Kosher salt and freshly ground
black pepper
Coarse sea salt or fleur de sel
Directions
Fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a full rolling boil, over medium-high heat. With a slotted spoon, carefully lower the eggs, one at a time, into the water. (Don’t allow them to fall into the pot or the shells will crack!)
Lower the heat and cook for exactly 6 ½ minutes (not 6 minutes and not 7 minutes), adjusting the temperature to maintain a low simmer. (If the water is boiling, the eggs will knock against each other and crack.)
Carefully transfer the eggs to a bowl or ice water for exactly 2 minutes. Remove the eggs from the water and peel. (Page 91 of the book tells you the best way to peel eggs.)
Meanwhile, toast the bread in a toaster or oven, and place the slices on a cutting board. Spread each slice first with ½ tablespoon of the butter and then ½ teaspoon of the mustard.
Place one egg on each slice of toast and chop the eggs roughly without cutting into the bread (the bread will absorb the runny yolks). Sprinkle with dill, if using, kosher salt, and paper. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and serve warm.