Œufs aux oignons

Ingredients

• 1 large Bombay onion (A large, mild-flavoured onion. A large white or yellow onion is a suitable modern substitute.)
• 2 tablespoons butter (Unsalted butter is fine. Use enough to generously coat the pan for frying the onion rings.)
• 1 teaspoon flour (Plain all-purpose flour. Just a small amount to thicken the sauce slightly.)
• 1 breakfast cup (approx. 240 ml / 1 cup) cream or fresh milk (A breakfast cup is roughly 240 ml or 1 cup. Use single cream for a richer sauce or full-fat milk for a lighter result.)
• 1 pinch, or to taste salt (Season to your preference.)
• 1 pinch, or to taste spiced pepper (A colonial-era seasoning blend. Use a light dusting of black pepper as a straightforward substitute.)
• 4 whole hard boiled eggs (Already hard-boiled and peeled before starting this recipe. See step 1 for instructions.)
• 4 rashers crisply fried bacon (For garnish. Fried until crisp and curled for presentation.)
• 4 slices fried bread (For garnish. Cut into neat pieces after frying.)

Instructions

1. 1Place the 4 eggs in a small saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a gentle boil and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and place them in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes — this stops the cooking and makes peeling easier. Once cooled, peel the eggs and set aside. You will slice them in a later step.
2. 2Peel the Bombay onion and slice it into thin rounds, then separate the rounds into individual rings. Melt the butter in a wide frying pan or saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter is foaming, add the onion rings in a single layer (work in batches if needed). Fry, stirring occasionally, until the rings are nicely browned and softened — this should take about 8–10 minutes. Do not rush this step; well-browned onions give the sauce its depth of flavour.
3. 3Keeping the pan on medium heat with the browned onions still in it, sprinkle a little flour (about 1 teaspoon) over the onions and butter. Stir it in well with a wooden spoon so the flour coats the onions and absorbs into the butter — this takes about 1 minute of stirring. Now pour in the breakfast cup (approximately 240 ml) of cream or fresh milk, pouring slowly while stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Continue stirring until the sauce is smooth and just beginning to thicken, about 2–3 minutes.
4. 4Give the sauce a dusting of salt and spiced pepper (or black pepper if using as a substitute). Stir gently to distribute the seasoning evenly. Taste the sauce and adjust if needed, keeping in mind the bacon garnish will add additional saltiness.
5. 5Take your cooled, peeled hard-boiled eggs and slice each one into rounds approximately 1 cm thick. Gently lay the egg slices into the onion cream sauce in the pan. Try not to stir too vigorously — you want the slices to remain mostly intact. Gently fold them in with a spoon so they are coated in the sauce.
6. 6Reduce the heat to low and simmer the pan gently — do not boil — until all the contents are thoroughly hot throughout, about 3–5 minutes. Stir very gently once or twice to ensure even heating without breaking up the egg slices. The sauce should be warm and coating the eggs nicely.
7. 7While the egg mixture is simmering, fry the bacon rashers in a separate dry frying pan over medium-high heat until they are crisp and beginning to curl at the edges, about 3–4 minutes per side. Remove and set aside. In the same pan (or a separate one), fry the bread slices in the bacon fat (or a little additional butter) over medium heat until golden and crisp on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove and cut the fried bread into neat pieces — squares or triangles work well.
8. 8Spoon the hot egg and onion sauce onto a warmed serving dish or individual plates. Garnish by alternating curls of crispy fried bacon with neatly cut pieces of fried bread around the edge of the dish. Serve immediately while everything is hot.