Oeuf en Cocotte with Spinach, Mushrooms, Smoked Cheddar and Pancetta

Spring may be here in a calendar sense, but the Edinburgh weather says otherwise. Snow, a bitter wind chill and driving rain are keeping me wrapped up inside and the heating at full. But after months of winter I'm getting a bit tired of hearty rich stews, root vegetables and other seasonal fare. It's not quite time for a salad (though really, when is it ever) but for something a bit lighter, something that says "hi glass of crisp white wine" but still comes out of the oven.

Les Cocottes, all the way from France

I'm lucky enough to have received a gift of some individual oven dishes, baby casseroles if you will or cocotte as the French call them. They lend their name to the traditional French dish of Oeuf en Cocotte, where a whole egg is cracked into each dish, seasoned and baked to soft, creamy perfection in the oven using a bain marie. Sometimes butter, cream or cheese are added to make a luxe version, or maybe herbs or wilted spinach. You delve into the baked oeuf with a spoon or some posh sourdough soldiers and savour the rich yet delicate flavours inside.

I made this version with baby spinach, mushrooms and smoked cheddar. These flavours work really well together, the earthiness of the spinach and mushrooms, the richness of the cheese and the lightness of the egg. I fry up some salty pancetta to finish the oeufs off; it brings out the smokiness of the cheddar and adds texture but it's not essential.

Perfect for a cosy late supper or a starter. Double or triple the recipe for more or hungrier people

Serves 2

2 Very large free range eggs, the biggest and free-est you can find. I had some straight from a local farm where you buy them from an honesty box. They're usually double yolkers the colour of marigolds.
Couple of handfuls baby spinach
3 cubes of butter
70g white mushrooms, stalks discarded
2 tbsp creme fraiche
50g smoked chedder, grated
4 rashers of pancetta
Decent bread
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Ground paprika (to serve)

2 small individual baking dishes/cocottes/ramekins with lids (or use foil)
Roasting tin to cook them in, deep enough to be used as a bain marie

1. Preheat the oven to Gasmark 3
2. Wilt the spinach with seasoning and cube of butter in a saucepan. Drain and press out all of the liquid
3. Discard the stalks of the mushrooms and slice them finely. Heat a frying pan, add the butter till sizzling then fry the mushrooms till browned. While they're cooking, boil the kettle.
4. Grease each dish with butter, then add a layer of spinach, then the mushrooms. Pat them down quite firmly.
5. Break an egg carefully into each dish over the mushrooms. You can break it into a cup or measuring jug first if that helps. Add a tiny pinch of seasoning. Pour over the creme fraiche and cover with the cheese.
6. Put the lids or foil on and place in the roasting tin. Pour boiling water into the tin so it comes up to about two thirds of the sides of the little dishes. Bake for 15-20 minutes depending how set you like the eggs. I take the lids off for a few minutes at the end to get a bit of colour on the cheese.
7. When they're nearly cooked fry the pancetta and drain on kitchen paper. Slice and butter some bread. Serve the eggs with a sprinkling of paprika and the pancetta on top.

Oeuf en Cocotte

Ballymaloe Day 22, 7th February - Kidney Business

Week 5 Day 2 and we were making breakfast for lunch. I made some tasty muffins with Medjool Dates in them, squeezed a pint of fresh orange juice, then started on the Blackberry, Apple and Sweet Geranium jam. This jam took an eon to set, it was quite ridiculous! We were both sick of it! Once we were free from the tyranny of the jam we made the full Irish Breakfast. I also prepared kidneys to have with the sausage, bacon, tomato, mushroom, white and black pudding and perfect fried egg (if I do say so myself). We also had some Cava with our freshly squeezed orange juice. Because I had so many orange peels from the juice I decided to have another go at the candied peel. Fingers crossed the second batch will be better!

An offal day in the kitchen (lol)

Lovin' the doilies

Later in the afternoon we were shown how to gut and skin a rabbit by Tom, who knows all things game, we were a rapt audience, everyone's eyes were on stilts! (Although apparently rabbit are not classed as game, they are vermin!) Then Rachel jointed it and made a casserole with mustard and herbs. I have no problem with rabbit but hare was also mentioned in our accompanying notes. I would never eat a hare, a noble beast! Rachel also jointed a chicken again and made a casserole with that and a casserole with Pheasant and Chorizo, a great combination.

There was no let up in the serious skills then as she showed us how to fillet a flat fish, there were Black or Dover Sole, Lemon Sole, Plaice, Brill and Megram, fresh from the boat. I am making deep fried goujons of sole tomorrow. Next were two delicious looking tarts, one was a Lemon Tart with Lemon Ice and the other a Medjool Date Tart, it was incredibly rich. I am making that one, more pastry!

Medjool Date Tart

Casseroles of Pheasant, Rabbit & Chicken

Lemon Tart & Lemon Ice

Ballymaloe Day 4, 12th January 2012 - Tarragon Chicken and a moonlit taxi ride

Second day proper in Kitchen 3. I was up and about early as one of our duties as students is to go out to the greenhouses with the gardeners and pick the salad, herbs and vegetables for the day's cooking. Myself and another student got in a van with the gardener and drove across the farm to the greenhouse in the dark. There was not a soul to be seen or heard, very strange to me who is is used to the sound of the expressway by 7am. There were no lights in there and I didn't use my torch - the gardener didn't! There are beds of salad leaves which we cut leaving an inch or so so they can grow back; we got mustard, mizuna, mibuna, rocket and herbs such as coriander and chervil. I managed not to look like a wuss when a cheeky slug slimed his way onto my finger! Then we tramped through the mud to get some cabbages and then back to the school.

Just time to get changed and it was back into the kitchen to cook soda bread, tarragon chicken and sprouts. The vegetables we cook here are always what's in season and full of flavour at this time of year, hence the sprouts. Still pretty scared of the kitchen but cooked everything ok. It was the first soda bread I'd ever made and simple but deceptive recipe. Apparently you shouldn't mix the egg with the buttermilk first before you add the liquid, as you may not need all the buttermilk but you do need a whole egg. I will remember that in future! Anyway, it turned out well in my opinion and I served it with some farmhouse butter. The buttermilk is gorgeous stuff in a churn straight from the farm's jersey cows and just one of the top class ingredients we use every day.

Then the chicken. The sauce was tasty but carving the chicken takes a bit of practice. The leg comes off pretty well once it's cooked but the breast and wing needs practice. Also you need to make sure everyone has a mixture of white meat, brown meat and bone, its all about proportion, proportion, proportion! After lunch our demonstration was by Rory O'Connell, Darina's brother and co-founder of the school. His demonstration was fab and included two really tasty pasta sauces, goat's cheese salad, scones and an amazing chocolate and hazelnut tart. His presentation and attention to detail is incredible, and everyone was really impressed. The scones were brushed in egg wash and dipped in sugar and the tart was so, so good. I am making this and the goat's cheese on Monday, can't wait.

Again another day completely overwhelmed by all the information and experiences we are exposed to. Also the quality of the ingredients is just the best and each one is sourced with care. It is such a privilege to be able to use them day in, day out. After three days in the kitchen Friday is the theory day so plenty of students congregated in the Blackbird pub in the pretty village of Ballycotton across the bay. I had a few glasses of wine but ended up sharing a taxi home with some of the locals me and my housemates met in the pub. Of course they can spot the students a mile off! Everyone was in good spirits but as the taxi raced along the country lanes with a view of the black sea and the red flash of the lighthouse all set under the waning moon, I thought how on earth did I get here? And not for the first time!