Randwiches

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A Scientific Guide to Fun Sous Vide Egg Yolk Croutons

Warning: your patience will be tested with this recipe. I urge you to remain calm and refrain from flailing too much or you may rupture an egg yolk. I repeat, no flailing. It will be worth it and then once you've eaten it all, only then, can you flail.

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For the crumble:

Smash the garlic with a mortar and pestle, mezzaluna knife or very finely with a sharp knife. Crush the rest of the ingredients together with the garlic until it forms a rough sand, like from a rocky beach.

For the eggs:

Slow cook 6 of the eggs with the sous vide circulator at 148.1 degrees F for 60 minutes. Ready a bowl with room temperature water in it. Once the eggs are done, rest them for at least 10 minutes in the bowl of water.

This is a very exaggerated gif of what an older generation Nomiku sous vide circulator looks like in action. In fact, it was mostly just me—shaking with excitement about these eggs. But let's be clear, I wasn't flailing.

While you wait, prepare your fry station! A muffin tin may help you with this. Place a bit of flour in one cup, then the last uncooked egg (jostled with a fork) in another and then panko in the cup next to it. If you don't have a muffin tin, 3 shallow bowls work as well.. Prep a small pan with 1 inch of frying oil. Find a piece of bread to use as a test piece.

Whoa! So when you sous vide an egg, the whites cook at a different rate than the yolk. When I picked it up in my hand, the whites fell away and there was this semi-solid yolk leftover. It is more custardy than soft boiled, but still delicate. Separate the whites from the rest of the eggs and save for another project (or eat with furikake and soy sauce, cause YUM?!). 

Working slowly with another plate, dust each egg yolk in flour, dip it in raw egg and then finally toss in the bread crumb. Once all six egg yolks are dredged, test your fry oil with a piece of bread. If the bread is golden, then you're ready. If it disintegrates or turns black, turn that damn heat down! Slowly slip the egg yolks, one at a time, into the fry oil. Don't play with them. Let them cook for a minute before flipping them. 

When the yolks are done, drain them on a paper towel. If you 're just going to eat one, sprinkle a little kosher salt on top.

To assemble:

Squeeze the lemon over the arugula and toss with a swig of olive oil., a pinch of salt and a few twists of pepper (because you use a grinder, right?). Place a yolk crouton on top and finish with parmesan crumble. When you crack into its bready crust, the yolk will act as a silky addition to the citric dressing. Enjoy it, as I did!

Let me know if you try this by tagging @Randwiches on Instagram, Tumblr or Twitter.