Oeufs en cocotte, with their simple elegance, make a for a charming, nourishing breakfast and are well-suited to a variety of accompaniments: fresh herbs, raw milk cheeses, ham or bacon or even my favorite – homemade gravlax. Easily prepared in single-serving portions, oeufs en cocotte are perfect for those cooking for only themselves or for a very small family. On hectic mornings – which, I might add, is nearly every morning – it’s easy to crack an egg into a dish, season it and slide it into a waiting oven. By the time I’ve finished my shower, breakfast is ready. This is fast food – in the true meaning of the words and without the disturbing additives or discomforting ecological, economical and social impacts.
Eggs make for a good breakfast – packed with vitamin A, riboflavin, selenium and other micronutrients in beautiful combination with wholesome fats and protein. Better yet if your egg comes from a hen raised on pasture. Research into the nutritional composition conducted by the Weston A Price Foundation indicates that the yolk of a pasture-raised egg contains 8 times the vitamin A of a conventional, store-bought egg. It’s no wonder. An comparison of the yolks alone yields a remarkable story itself. The yolk of a pasture-raised egg will be a rich orange compared to a conventional egg which is pallid and dull by comparison. Remember, where there’s color and flavor, there’s nutrients.
In this recipe, I combine pasture-raised egg with pecorino romano cheese, unrefined celtic sea salt and home-cured gravlax. The gravlax, with its salty sweetness, adds a lovely richness to the dish and contributes much needed omega-3 fatty acids including EPA and DHA. Gravlax is a raw food – cured at home easily and, in the best tradition of real food, without complication. Wild-caught salmon or other oily fish combines with unrefined sugar, salt, fresh herbs and spices, is weighted down and allowed to cure in the fridge for a few days or up to a week before being served. Wary of cooking’s effect on fragile polyunsaturated fatty acids found in salmon, I prefer to serve my fish raw or cured.
When you’re rushed for time, consider the minimal effort and spectacular nutritional composition of this simple, wholesome dish. It takes only a few minutes, and is well worth it. If you don’t have gravlax on hand – and it’s likely you won’t as it’s not a regular feature in most kitchens – you can substitute purchased lox or smoked salmon, herbs or even ham or bacon.
oeufs en cocotte with lox: the recipe
By Published: November 18, 2009
- Yield: 1 Servings
This recipe serves 1; however, it is easily doubled, tripled, quadrupled … For a heartier breakfast, consider serving these eggs with buttered sprouted grain toast and fresh fruit or a tomato salad.
Ingredients
- 1 Egg from a Pasture-raised Hen
- 1 tbsp Raw Milk Artisan Cheese (Grated)
- 1 ounce Lox, Smoked Salmon or Home-cured Gravlax (Chopped Fine)
- 2 tsp Chopped Fresh Herbs (Parsley and Chives work well for me)
- Unrefined Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper (to Taste)
- 1/2 tsp Butter from Grass-fed Cows
Instructions
- Butter a small 4-oz ramekin.
- Crack the egg and pour the contents into the buttered ramekin. Take care not to break the yolk.
- Add the lox to the dish.
- Sprinkle the cheese, herbs, salt and pepper to the egg.
- Bake in a water bath at 350 º F until egg white is set, but the yolk is still runny or done to your liking. Baking takes approximately 12 – 15 minutes – just enough time for a nice long shower.
Yum – and now where is the recipe for the Gravlax?
I second the request. I’d love the recipe for home-made gravlax!
I can’t wait to try this with the lox! I first learned of this recipe through Sarah’s Musings and have loved it ever since. I try to eat an egg daily and find that I’m now craving the taste in the morning.
Great post! Can’t wait to try it.
Love this recipe, but I’m a bit confused… you mention using gravlax because you’re ‘wary of cooking’s effects on fragile polyunsaturated fatty acids’ but then you cook it at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Wouldn’t it be better to add the gravlax at the end, after cooking the egg?
What a great breakfast idea! And now I’m hoping you post your recipe for gravlox tomorrow.
I’ve always wanted to make it but dont have fresh salmon. I do have some pink fillets in the freezer but I think once it’s been frozen the texture might be too mushy after curing? I’d love to hear more about this since.
This looks wonderful and I’ve made similar versions but never with the gravlax. I too would like to know more about it!
My favorite lox recipe, use the ratio below depending on how much salmon you need to cure.
1 pound wild salmon fillet
2 TBSP course sea salt
2 TBSP raw organic sugar
2 TBPS fresh ground black peppercorns
1 bunch organic fresh dill
Cut salmon fillet in half. Mix salt, sugar and pepper together, rub onto pink side of both salmon fillets. Place fresh dill in between fillets and stack fillets to make a salmon “sandwich” with skin side out. Wrap salmon in clean muslin or plastic wrap. Place salmon in a shallow dish and weight the top of the salmon. Refrigerate at least 4 days, turning salmon over once a day. At the end of four days remove salmon, rinse off curing ingredients and freeze for at least 7 days or longer. The freezing process is important so don’t skip it. You now have a ready to serve supply of lox (gravlax) in your freezer! Remove and slice thin to serve.
Yum! I discovered oeufs cocottes while living in France – so tasty! The French often eat them for a starter/appetizer before dinner too (which I found interesting, since we anglos tend to think of eggs as breakfast food). Delicious with a bit of toast or crusty french bread dipped in!
This is my favorite recipe here! I love baked eggs! The OMega-3 content has got to be sky high.
I’m so excited that I found your site.
I love new and delicious breakfast ideas and I can hardly wait to try this one.
I used to make this at my B&B all the time! But never with Gravlax. I’ll have to try it!
Just a clarification. The recipe title mentions lox but the rest of the post calls for gravlax. Lox is cured and smoked salmon. Gravlax in cured but not smoked.