Today, we’re featuring a children’s favorite — the oeuf à la coque-mouillettes (soft boiled egg-bread fingers).  Oeuf à la coque makes a wonderful quick dinner (ready in less than 5 minutes!) and is sure to create fond memories.  Children of all ages love to dunk their “mouillettes” (dunking bread fingers) to eat the yolk, scoop the white with a small spoon, and then turn the emptied shell to smash it for fun!  And did you know that it is Louis XV, grandson of the sun king Louis XIV and king of France in the 18th century, that popularized the “oeuf à la coque”.  Indeed, the story goes that he loved his oeuf à la coque so much that he would carry his golden “coquetier” (eggcup) everywhere.  The entourage of course was quick to imitate the king and soon enough the soft boiled egg was à la mode (fashionable).  Check our detailed (and oh so easy) recipe and Art of the Home suggestions below.  Enjoy and bon appétit!

Oeuf à la Coque-Mouillettes (Soft Boiled Egg-Bread Fingers)

Oeuf à la coque

Oeuf à la Coque-Mouillettes de Mamie (Grandma’s Soft Boiled Egg-Bread Fingers)
by Art of the Home

Ingredients (yield 4)

• 8 large eggs
• 6-8 slices of bread
• Salted butter

Directions

1. Bring water to boil.
2. Take eggs out of the fridge ahead of time, they should be at room temperature (to prevent the egg from cracking when placed in the boiling water).
3. With a soup spoon, gently place eggs in boiling water.  Depending of the size of your eggs, cook for 3-4 minutes (3 minutes for smaller eggs and typically 4 minutes for large US eggs).
4. While the eggs are cooking, butter the mouillettes (bread fingers)
5. Remove from water and place eggs on eggcups.
6. Arrange the bread fingers around the eggcup, chop off the top of the egg with a knife and start dunking your bread fingers, oh so delicious!  And don’t forget to scoop the egg white inside the egg top (chapeau) and inside the shell.  And finally a children’s favorite, turn the egg over and…crush it with  your spoon — actually not just for children!

Art of the Home Suggestions:

1. French fries twist: instead of bread fingers, you can dunk French Fries.
2. Veggie sticks: if you want to skip the startch, use aspargus or carrot sticks instead of bread, a great way to eat a protein/veggie meal.
3. Baby’s first soft boiled egg:  better to wait until baby is 1!  When babies turn one, it is so much joy to see the baby eat his first oeuf à la coque — kind of a traditional rite of passage in some French families.  This one year threshold is based on grandmas’ wisdom transmitted from generation to generation but doctors now tell us that to prevent potential allergic reactions (due to the egg whites especially), it is recommended to wait until children are one year or older before giving them eggs.  Aren’t grandmas so insightful!