“It took me 2.5 hours at 62°C – sitting by my stove with an electronic thermometer in hand to ensure that the water temperature remained constant. I was like a mother hen watching over her hatching eggs! It took some time and some doing but it was worth every single minute. The thick golden yellow yolk that oozed out of this perfectly boiled eggs was like liquid gold … and something you just have to try once in your life”
The other day my dear friend Nina Timm surprised me with a gift of two beautiful and bountiful goose eggs. Eggs are a symbol of birth, of life – and these eggs were so fulsome and so perfect. It reminded me of the wonders that surround us but it also reminded me of Aesop’s fable of …
… The goose that laid the golden eggs
A man and his wife owned a very special goose. Every day the goose would lay a golden egg, which made the couple very rich.
“Just think,” said the man’s wife, “If we could have all the golden eggs that are inside the goose, we could be richer much faster.”
“You’re right,” said her husband, “We wouldn’t have to wait for the goose to lay her egg every day.”
So, the couple killed the goose and cut her open, only to find that she was just like every other goose. She had no golden eggs inside of her at all, and they had no more golden eggs.
So what is the moral of this little tale? Riches do not lie in earthly things nor in the greed for more riches … Our riches are within and in each passing moment we have the opportunity to hold dear the real riches of this world like family, friendships, love and hope. We need to treasure it all …
But now let’s get back to recipe….the sun was out and spring was in the air…what was I going to do with these gorgeous goose eggs?
I went to Sat Bains for inspiration – he was the one who took the classic egg, ham and pea combination to a whole new level by using the sous vide method to cook duck eggs and to serve them with a pea sorbet.
I was determined to sous vide these two golden beauties and serve them on a nest of crushed minted peas and prosciutto with some little toasts. I do not have one of those fancy and very expensive sous vide water baths and I could not find a recipe … so I had to improvise. With a pot of hot water covering my eggs – it took me 2.5 hours at 62°C – sitting by my stove with an electronic thermometer in hand to ensure that the water temperature remained constant. I added cold water when the temperature went up. It took some time and some doing but it was worth every single minute. The thick golden yellow yolk that oozed out of this perfectly boiled eggs was like liquid gold …and something you just have to try once in your life. The perfect combination of the sweet peas and then the salty prosciutto and a scoop of the golden yolk on a crispy cut of toast are just absolutely from another planet. Of course, the dish was not complete without a sprinkle of salt and freshly grounded white pepper.
Thank you Nina and thank you Mrs Goose for bringing some rays of golden sunshine to my plate.
Serves: 2
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 2.5 hours
Ingredients
For the goose eggs
2 Goose eggs at room temperature
Electronic thermometer
Big pot filled with water – eggs need to be covered with water
For the crushed-minted-pea-and-prosciutto-nest
250g Frozen peas
2ml Salt
2t Sugar
20g Butter
1T Freshly chopped mint
4 Slices of prosciutto
Little toasts
Fresh ciabatta cut thinly and lightly toasted
Seasoning
Freshly ground white pepper
Salt
Method
1. For the goose eggs – heat the pot with water to 62°C and then add the eggs. Keep it on the lowest heat level on your stove and try and keep the temperature constant for 2.5 hours. You just have to stand by the stove, check the thermometer and add a bit of cold water to bring the temperature down. When done, put the eggs aside to cool a bit. Then peel very carefully. The shell is very hard and thick and it’s not so easy. The outside of the white is going to fall away and you will sit with this beautiful thin white layer and the golden yolk.
2. For the peas – cook the peas for about 3 minutes. Add the salt, butter, mint and sugar give it a good stir and then crush.
3. To assemble – divide the peas in half and divide onto two plates. Add a slice of prosciutto on each nest and then add the egg. Sprinkle with white pepper and some salt – then add another slice of prosciutto and round it off with a little toast.
anél potgieter 