Oh loyal ones! I apologise for my royal tardiness. What can I say? There are a million excuses but none really good enough to excuse it so instead I will just forge ahead! Maybe you’ve missed me so much you won’t even care?

Eggs. Such a humble little thing. All ready to go in its own little package and promising such vast possibilities! (I may have been reading too much Nigella lately! But then again, there isn’t such a thing as too much Nigella!) But really - the egg is just one of the best things in the fridge. You can do so much with them and they are always there when you need a yummy feel good meal or snack in record time.

Of course, I wouldn’t be The CombiSteam Queen if I didn’t now mention that your CombiSteam loves eggs just as much as I do. There are so many ways to cook them using multiple functions and temperatures in your favourite kitchen friend.

On my The Basics downloads you will find lots of help with cooking many everyday things like eggs, but today we’re going to talk low temperature, long time eggs. The fancy pants term for it is sous vide. Now with sous vide style cooking you usually have the food sealed in a vacuum style bag, but given that an egg comes ready to rock in its own wrapper, you don’t need to. Sous vide cooking is done in a bain marie or water bath usually, but your CombiSteam allows you to do it using your steam function. The more accurate the CombiSteam you have is, in terms of controlling temperature, (some are 1° accurate on Steam which is worth investigating if you are purchasing!) the better your results will be. Some brands even go a Step further and have a dedicated “sous vide” function (like the new models by V-ZUG - they call it Vacuisine™). This style of cooking is all about cooking gently. Cooking gently gives foods, especially proteins like meat, fish and yes, eggs, a beautiful silky texture making them amazing to eat. A sous vide egg is sometimes referred to as a 63° egg (I’m working Celsius here!) but you can do them to 62° or 64° and play around with your favourite result. When you use this method the outcome is almost like a poached egg but it pops right out the shell. It’s kind of crazy the first time you do it.

I love setting up my sous vide or 63° degree eggs the night before using my delayed start function and waking up to them ready to roll. Great for weekend breakkies! Who needs a crowded cafe with all that lycra and dog hair??!?!?! You can do one egg or 27 eggs and the timing and set up won’t change. They are also fabulous perched on top of a salad or even a gorgeous pasta dish. You will truly take something kind of ordinary and turn it into something amazing with that little bubble of white and yellow sitting there ready to be poked.

So let’s get into it. I am turning this into a “recipe” with the addition of some nice toast and a great little avo mash (I’m avoiding the cliched “smash” - again too much lycra and dog hair!) but you can just do the egg part anytime you need them.

Sous Vide Eggs with Toast & Avo Mash

Ingredients:
6 of the freshest and best quality eggs you can find
6 slices your choice of bread
2 avocados (mashed)
1 spring onion (finely chopped)
handful of your fave soft herb (chopped)*
1 lime zested and juiced
s&p
extra virgin olive oil
chilli flakes to serve (optional)
handful fresh spinach or other greens (optional)

Method:

1. Place the eggs into your CombiSteam. (I usually just lay then gently in between the wires on the rack.)

2. Select your Steam (or dedicated Sous Vide function if you have it) to 63°C.

3. Set your cooking time to 63 minutes.

4. Remove the eggs at the end of the cooking time and set aside to rest or refrigerate if using later.

5. Select the Combination Steam function (Hot Air+Steaming) function and set the temperature to the highest available. (For variable Steam control select 10-20% or low) Allow the CombiSteam to get to temperature (pre-heat).

6. Meanwhile combine the avocado, spring onion, herbs, lime zest and lime juice in a bowl. Season really well with salt and pepper and mix through a glug of oil. Set aside.

7. Place the bread onto a tray or rack and add to the preheated oven. Cook for approx 7 minutes or until golden and toasted.*

8. Spread the toast with the avocado mash and place on your serving plate.

9. Tap the shell of your egg on a FLAT surface to break it open carefully. Open it slowly over the toast and let the egg slide out.

10. Sprinkle with chilli flakes (if using) or just some s&p or both.

11. Call your local cafe and tell them how amazing you are!

*for the herbs try coriander, chives, Italian parsley or basil

*results for “toasting” will vary depending on the brand of CombiSteam you own - if preferred you can do it in the toaster, but I prefer my toast cooked on Hot Air+Steaming this way in my own brand of choice.

*to wilt your spinach/greens place them in an oven proof dish and add them for a few minutes with the toast, then remove, stir and season with s&p and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

So there you have it. Try it. It’s just fabulous. You will notice the silkiness of both the white and the yolk as the process of cooking it this ways “sets” the protein rather than “cooking” it in a traditional sense. It is important to give the eggs a little rest for at least a few minutes before you open them just to let them settle. If you like your egg firmer you can play with the temperature, taking it up a degree or three. Play and see what happens.

I hope we can explore the concept of sous vide more in the next few months.

I’m glad to be back.

Happy CombiSteaming!

Yours in the kitchen,

The CSQ!