From Chef · 2014 · Reconstructed
Caviar Egg
Serve when
The dish the critic singles out by name — a shirred egg under a dollop of caviar, plated to impress a country-club brunch crowd.
In the movie
Theatrical
- ~00:09:59 Part of Gauloise's 'greatest hits' tasting menu, plated in the pre-service montage before Ramsey Michel's visit — a shirred egg topped with a dollop of caviar, the appetizer his review calls out by name as the kitchen's safest, least ambitious dish.
The caviar egg is the dish Ramsey Michel's review reaches for first and cuts deepest: "an excuse for the chef to overcharge us for his insecurity and lack of imagination." It's not a bad dish — it's a safe one, ordered up by an owner who wants Carl playing his hits instead of cooking anything new, and the film uses it to open the wound that sends Carl out of fine dining altogether.
Ingredients
Method
- Butter four small ramekins generously and crack one egg into each.
- Spoon a tablespoon of crème fraîche around the edge of each yolk.
- Bake (shirr) at 325°F for 10-12 minutes, until the whites are just set and the yolks are still soft — pull them a minute early if you like a runnier center.
- Top each with a small dollop of caviar right before serving, so it doesn't sit in the residual heat.
- Finish with chives, a little flaky salt, and a crack of black pepper.
Substitutions
- Caviar: trout roe, salmon roe, or lumpfish roe give the same briny pop at a much friendlier price. They are not as delicate as sturgeon caviar, so use a slightly smaller spoonful and add it at the very last second.
- No roe: a few tiny capers with extra chives give salt and contrast, but they turn the dish into a good shirred egg rather than the critic-bait luxury plate from the film.
- Crème fraîche: sour cream works in the ramekin; Greek yogurt is better spooned on after baking because high heat can make it split.
Beyond the recipe
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