Eggs Florentine

Make a roux first: in a saucepan, melt butter and add flour – cook for 2 minutes stirring every so often on medium heat. Add hot milk, bring to a boil and cook white sauce for 2 minutes whisking constantly. Add sour cream – boil and add cheese. When cheese is melted, remove sauce from the heat and incorporate egg yolks swiftly. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Smooth out mornay sauce with an immersion blender.

Crack each egg and reserve in separate small containers. Fill a large pot with water, add vinegar and bring to a boil. Do not salt water when poaching eggs; it breaks up the eggs whites. Stir the water in one direction. The swirling water will help prevent the white from spreading out in the pan. Drop one egg at the time (3 max). Set the heat to medium-low for a gradual simmer, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove eggs with a slotted spoon and transfer to ice bath. Trim off hanging white parts from poaches eggs, and reserve on a plate lined with paper towel or cold water if using later.

Fill a large pot with water, add vinegar and salt – bring to a boil. Carefully, immerse room temp eggs in boiling water. Lower the heat and cook eggs for 5 mins. Remove eggs with a slotted spoon and transfer to ice bath. Five minutes later, gently crack bottom egg shell with the back of a spoon. Keep eggs immersed in water until ready to peel – this allows water to infiltrate the inner shells making it easier to peel. Gently peel eggs and reserve them in cold water for up to 3 days. Storing poached eggs in water keep their shapes intact.

Make a roux first: melt butter and add flour. Stir well and cook on low heat for 2 minutes (no color is needed). Add warm milk, bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes whisking constantly. Add cream and continue to cook, then add the cheese. When cheese is fully melted, remove saucepan from the heat, and incorporate egg yolks swiftly. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Smooth out using an immersion blender. Set aside covered with plastic wrap in contact

Wash spinach throughly renewing water until it comes out clean. Drain and use a salad spinner to remove most of the remaining moisture. Heat up large pot or sautoir. Add a drizzle of olive oil, butter and crushed garlic. Add spinach and wilt greens over high heat stirring swiftly for about a minutes. Spinach are at their best slightly undercooked. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and reserve.

If you plan to make egg florentine in advance using baked tartlet shells, chill mornay sauce in order to firm up. Also, you wan to squeeze wilted spinach in paper towels to remove excessive moisture.

Season wilted spinach with the mornay sauce. Reheat right before serving.

Spinach coulis can be made out of frozen spinach. Save fresh spinach for the dish itself. If so, cook frozen spinach about a pound/450g in boiling and salted water. Drain and blend with olive oil and chicken stock until desired consistency is reached. Sieve and set aside. Reheat right before serving.

Build eggs florentine straight inside the baked tartlet shells. Pipe a dot of chilled mornay sauce first. Top with some cooked and squeezed spinach and add more sauce. Then top with poached eggs and coat with more mornay sauce. Cover with grated parmesan or emmental cheese and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Reheat eggs florentine in a 400ºF/200ºC oven for 5 minutes and toast under the broiler for 3 minutes more. Serve immediately.

Plate out hot creamy spinach in the center of the plate (use a cake ring to make it neater). Cover spinach with the egg cups crust and top with a warm mollet egg. Wrap egg with a couple of emmental shavings, and quickly melt using a kitchen blowtorch. Pour warm spinach coulis around the crust, and glaze the egg with mornay sauce. Season with fleur de sel and ground black pepper. Bon appétit!