Eggs in a cocotte

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• butter
• 8 eggs
• 1 tsp chives, cut into rolls
• Salt
• pepper
• 4 tsp cream
• 4 tsp cheese (Gruyère), grated

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 15 minutes

Eggs in a pan, brought back from Paris (the recipe, not the eggs…)

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius (bottom heat). Pour some hot water into a gratin dish, roasting pan, etc., and place it in the oven. Grease 4 ramekins with butter and crack 2 eggs into each ramekin. Sprinkle the eggs with chives, season with salt and pepper, and carefully pour the cream over the eggs, finally sprinkling with cheese. Place the ramekins in the bain-marie, submerging them about halfway in the hot water. Cook for 10 minutes: the egg white should be set, the yolk still runny (test: shake it gently). Leave it in for 1-2 minutes longer if desired, and serve immediately in the ramekin. It’s actually an appetizer, but I prefer to eat it for breakfast (unlike “real Parisians”).