I first noticed soft-boiled eggs while watching British period dramas. The heroine and hero, dressed in frilly elaborate clothes, would be served an egg placed on these fancy candlestick holders. I would then lose the thread of the dialogue while I watched them take a small spoon and neatly excavate the egg inside its shell. It all seemed so terribly British – reserved and uncomfortable. Yet for some reason, it looks really impressive when done with a brown egg.

If you have an egg cup set try it out with brown eggs! If not, it doesn’t really matter what color your eggs are since you’ll be peeling the shell off.

Ingredients

• 2 Eggs (cold)
• 1 Tomato (sliced)
• 1/2 Serrano Chilie (sliced into thin rounds)
• 1/2 Avocado (sliced)
• 2 Whole Wheat Toast

What to do

For two eggs I used the smallest pot in the kitchen. Make sure your pot can comfortably fit your eggs (mine could fit four eggs). Fill with 1/2 inch of water and bring to a boil on high heat.

 

Once the water is boiling, take the Eggs directly from the fridge and into the water. Be careful here and use a slotted spoon. I tried to do it with just my hands, but you’ll be getting really close to the boiling water and if you release the eggs before they touch the bottom of the pot they will crack.

Cover and reduce heat to medium high. Let cook for 6 min. This is very important! 6 minutes for two eggs. Any less and the whites will be runny – any more and the yolk will not be runny. If you want to do more than two eggs at once, you’ll need to adjust the cooking times. I’ve never done more than two at once so you’re on your own for that.

You now have six minutes to prepare the rest of your breakfast. Slice up the Tomato, Chilie, & Avocado. Toast and butter your bread however you like. Assemble with Chilies forming a base, then Tomatoes, and Avocados on top to cradle the egg.

  

When the timer goes off, rinse the Eggs in cold running water. It’s suggested that you take the Eggs out of the pot and do this separately, but I’m too lazy and just ran the whole thing under the tap. Do this for 30 seconds so that the eggs are cooled off enough to touch, but still pretty hot in the center.

Now peel off the shell and place the Eggs on their respective toasts.

If you already know how to peel an egg then skip this paragraph. Honestly, this was the first time I’ve ever tried this. For the novice, after some experimentation I’ve come to this conclusion: Hold the egg with the narrow end on top. Using a fork, softly tap around the top point. It will take a few tries to get the forces right. The shell will ‘fracture’ and you can peel it off.

Season with Salt and Black Pepper. And don’t forget to prepare you favorite cuppa as well.

Enjoy!