Oeufs En Cocotte - Shirred Eggs Are A Classic French Breakfast Recipe (2024)

Oeufs en cocotte is one of my absolute favourite offerings when I have guests staying over. I think it’s an excellent way to impress them with a luxury hotel style breakfast or brunch. Imagine having a lovely conversation over coffee while digging into one of these delicious items with a gooey runny yolk.

There is something cosy and sophisticated about oeufs en cocotte. I mean, who wouldn't love this fancy dish served straight out of the oven? Serve them with some toasted bread or some vegetables and you’ll have your guests planning their next stay at your place. What’s even better is that you can adapt it to anyone’s liking. For example, if you have a guest who loves bacon, simply put it in. This often forgotten recipe is so easy to personalise.

British Egg Week

Did you know that this week is British Egg Week, from 9th-15th of October? You still have a chance of making a delicious egg recipe, whether it be scrambled eggs or Eggs Benedict. Or why not start with the nation's favourite dish, a full English breakfast? Did you know that roughly 42% of Brits order this when they eat out? I admit, my favourite egg dish is Eggs Benedict with that delicious rich hollandaise sauce. However, after having these oeufs en cocotte, I must stay I might have a new favourite egg dish!

In honour of British Egg Week, British Lion eggs have teamed up with The Goring Hotel to share six of its famous breakfast recipes. Make sure you check them out. They are great for inspiration!

• The Goring’s full English breakfast
• Sunday smoked salmon and scrambled eggs
• Classic Eggs Benedict with homemade hollandaise
• Soft poached eggs, sweetcorn pancake and crispy pancetta
• Eggs cocotte with smoked haddock, leek and chives
• Fine herb omelet with sliced smoked salmon

With these recipes, you get excellent advice on how to make the perfect breakfast with a sense of luxury right at home. Goring Hotel’s own Michelin-starred Executive Chef, Shay Cooper, shared tips and tricks to make this happen. I’ve done my own version of the eggs cocotte, or oeufs cocotte and it turned out very well. Which one will you go for?

British eggs

With all these scandals that have been circulating around Dutch eggs, there is no better time than to use our own British eggs. I would recommend using eggs bearing the British Lion mark, which guarantees that they have been produced to the highest standards of food safety. All Lion Quality eggs come from British hens vaccinated against salmonella, are fully traceable and have a ‘best before’ date on the shell as a guarantee of freshness. With the British Egg Week, you can use eggs with the British Lion quality to produce a lovely hotel style breakfast!

oeufs en cocotte

Surprise, surprise, ouefs en cocotte are originally French. In fact, every time I think of oeufs en cocotte, I imagine myself eating these in France with some delicious French cheese. The literal meaning is eggs in a pot, which is exactly what they are. However, you might also know oeufs en cocotte as "shirred eggs".

leek and mushrooms

Not everyone has ramekins at home. Before making these oeufs en cocotte, you’ll need to purchase these. Once you have your baking pots you’ll need to think about the filling. For this recipe, I decided to go for a leek and mushroom filling. The earthy flavours of the mushrooms will be perfect with the crisp sweetness from the leek. My favourite type of leek is of course is an organic one, freshly pulled out of the ground. You can really taste the difference. Plus, it’s the season of mushrooms, so you can really have the best pick for this hotel style breakfast!
The really useful thing about this filling is that you can make a large batch and store it. The next day, you can reuse it in tarts, pies or quiches. My favourite alternative would be the quiche, where you can also make a lovely meal out of British eggs!

variations

Generally, I like to wrap the cocotte with parma ham or bacon for those extra smoky flavours. Plus, the guests love it! It creates a sort of wrap around the egg. If you are vegetarian, then why not slice courgettes into really thin pieces and use them as a wrap around the egg? You can literally put anything you want inside the oeufs en cocotte! Plus, if you think about it, it’s really practical because you can use the contents of your refrigerator and use up those perishable goods.

the egg

My recommendation for the best version of oeufs en cocotte is to make sure that the yolk is nice and runny. It gives off a great visual effect and the yolk will bind all the flavours together. If you have a problem with a runny egg yolk, then I recommend adding more cream. This way, the other ingredients will not dry out. Guys, remember to season the egg on top!

toppings

This is where it gets interesting. Most people love to put fresh herbs on top of their oeufs en cocotte. These include parsley, chives, watercress or even coriander. However, I also recommend experimenting with smoked paprika powder or a few drops of white truffle oil. Now that’s a luxurious hotel style breakfast! Truffle goes perfectly with a runny yolk, make sure you try this combination.

Sides

To ensure the full hotel breakfast experience, I would julienne some vegetables like pepper or cucumber. I would also perhaps parboil asparagus or grill a tomato, English breakfast style. However, an important component of the oeufs en cocotte is the toasted bread! Don’t forget to buy some fresh bread in the bakery.

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