eggs mimosa

I am now the proud owner of I Know How to Cook, a cookbook just published for the first time in English. It's been the best-selling French cookbook for generations and it's been adapted by Clotilde Dusoulier, of Chocolate & Zucchini. I read C&Z all the time and really enjoy Clotilde's cooking and writing.


I Know How to Cook is massive! There are 52 recipes for eggs! I thought I knew how to cook eggs, then I read about Italian-Style Eggs (with tomato and Gruyere cheese), Eggs a la Royale (with bechamel sauce), Cinderella Eggs (with ham, foie gras mousse, and creme fraiche), and Eggs Mimosa.


I picked Eggs Mimosa because I wanted to make my own mayonnaise. After hard boiling the eggs, I hollowed them out and mix the yolks with mayonnaise, then place it back into the whites.


I have to be perfectly honest.... I had to have two tries at the mayonnaise before I succeeded. The instructions in I Know How to Cook were clear, but I didn't realise how "gradually" I was meant to add the oil to the egg yolk. I ended up consulting my old battered copy of The Joy of Cooking and it said to add the oil half a teaspoon at a time. The second time the oil and the egg yolk thickened up straight away and made the most delicious mayonnaise I have ever tasted. (Ant and I had to restrain ourselves from digging in with the toast rounds we were making.)


Making mayonnaise is surprisingly easy, if a little hard on the arm muscles. You put an egg yolk in a bowl (make sure it is at room temperature), then beat in 1/2 c (125 ml) to 3/4 c (175 ml) oil, one half teaspoon at a time. The mayonnaise should thicken up. Season with salt and pepper, and lemon juice, Dijon mustard, or white wine vinegar.

Eggs Mimosa
adapted from I Know How to Cook

Hard boil 6 eggs. Cut them in half, then hollow out the yolks. Mash two thirds of the yolks with 200 ml of mayonnaise (the amount made with one egg yolk and 1/2 c - 3/4 c oil). Fill the whites with the mayonnaise mixture and sprinkle the remaining yolks over top. Garnish with basil.