What is art? If you told me ten years ago that I’d be
exploring that question and expressing myself through a hen’s egg I would have
told you that you were out of your f**king mind, but here I am, talking about
eggs, thinking about art! There are so many ways I can go about this. I can fixate
on the endless versatility of eggs in traditional and novel cuisine. I can talk
about the nutritional complexity of eggs and the fact that they themselves account
for much of the daily sustenance of humanity. I can attempt to explain their
endless physical and chemical qualities which allow them to be used for a full
spectrum of culinary purposes, from gels to foams. I can try to offer insight into
my personal connection to deviled eggs, being a staple of sorts on the unchanging
appetizer boards back in my home country. I can endlessly comment on the
amazing egg experiences I have had in restaurants in a few countries. To do any
of those things though would not do justice to my real reason for putting this
dish together. I wanted to plate something so elegantly simple in a provocative
way. I challenged myself to take a simple dish and to amplify the visual
stimulation. Immediately I can tell you that responses have been different. Some
people expressed excitement at artistry while others simply saw an unclean
plate. In the end though, I suppose that’s the thing about creativity and more
to the point, artistry, it is not meant to provoke uniformed consensus, but
rather, provoke dialogue in the first place. It is meant to be different things
to different people. It is meant to be different things at different times. It
is meant to tell something about the person that put it together. You know them
a little better. The humble egg has allowed me to express myself in this way.
Who would have thought?
INGREDIENTS (serves 4):
·
6 eggs
·
3 tbsp mayonnaise
·
1 tsp champagne vinegar
·
1 tbsp milk
·
1 tsp Dijon mustard
·
Sea salt
·
100 g green peas
·
Pea or other shoots
·
6 strips smoked bacon
-
Preheat oven to 175 °C
-
Place the bacon onto a lightly greased baking rack
that is itself over a backing tray lined with foil to act as a catch for bacon
grease
-
Put the bacon into the oven for about 10 minutes
until cooked
-
Allow the bacon to cool and cut each strip in
half and reserve
-
Meanwhile place the peas into a pan of salted boiling
water at just over medium heat for about 2 minutes
-
Reserve a few of the peas and purée the
rest until smooth, passing through a sieve if necessary
-
Submerge the eggs in a pan of cold water then
bring the water to the boil
-
Boil for about 8 minutes after the water starts
to boil after which remove the eggs from the water and place into a waiting
bowl of ice water
-
Peel the eggs carefully to avoid bruising the
whites
-
With a clean life slice each egg in half along
the longer axis
-
Using a small spoon remove the yolks from the
eggs, reserving the whites
-
Use a potato ricer or a food processor to
combine the egg yolks with the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, and milk
-
Season the yolks with salt to taste
-
Fill a piping bag with the desired nozzle with
the yolk mixture
-
To serve first use a pastry brush to paint a white
serving plate with the pea purée, using straight line strokes
-
On a clean surface, pipe each egg white with
enough of the yolk mixture to slightly rise above the surface
-
Carefully place a straight bacon piece into each
deviled egg and neatly place the eggs onto the serving plate painted with the
pea puree
-
Scatter a few of the shoots and reserved peas on
each egg and around the plate
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