The Perfect Boiled Egg for Summer Salads

Back to basics, from Paris

Bonjour, mes petits chou fleurs! (A fabulous French term of endearment, meaning my darlings but literally translated to my little cauliflowers. Too perfect?!)

I'm just back from French soil and have been dying to connect with you all. Apart from the bright, loyal sunshine and rows of singing geraniums, or the mesmerising beat of market squares freshly scented with fruit and veg, I lost myself in the brilliance of artisinal French cheese; dribbly tomatoes glossed with local olive oil and flaky Normandy salt; fat juicy peaches, indeliable on the tongue; thinly sliced veggies chargrilled over smoky hot coals, tucked into quiche and baguettes; Salade Nicoise more than I can count; And velvety, forgotten eggs. Somewhere on our French adventure, I fell in love with the six-minute egg all over again. The simplest of pleasures, soft boiled eggs are featured in various styles across all the trendy restaurants we visited in Paris, from the expensive snazzy ones, to the corner neighbourhood cafes. Les oeufs durs were prize-winning yet simple.

They appeared on breakfast tables, as predictable as the morning croissant. They were sliced and dropped onto salads later in the day. Or grated over asparagus in the evening, when they weren’t dressed in French mayo or mustard. It reminded me that having an army of soft boiled eggs at the ready gifts us endless possibilities in the kitchen. Eggs are especially talented at turning what looks like half a meal, into a whole one. Lettuce is delicious with soft boiled eggs on top and a scattering of salt flakes - the runny yolk becomes a part of its dressing. Sturdy salad leaves with olive tapenade is my current favourite combo. It takes no time to prep, especially when the eggs are boiled the day before and banked in the fridge. Or BBQing spears of purple sprouting broccoli, then annointing with garlic yoghurt, chilli flakes and jammy eggs. The French have always been wizards at simplicity - there’s nothing more basic and uplifting as the soft boiled egg. Oeuffs en restes famously has just two ingredients - leftovers, and eggs.

I loves me an egg yolk. These little golden treasures contain phospholipids called choline and inositol. Phospholipids are The Shizzle. They appear to have many important functions in our body, such as the proper breakdown and absorption of fats in our diet. Yes please! Phospholipids are also applauded for their brain-charging abilities. I’m very fond of my brain, and feel that I need it everywhere I go. So I’m definitely in the market for more phospholipids!

Below, I’ve listed some tips for boiling the perfect egg, to help you celebrate its simplicity in the kitchen this month. There are tiny quail eggs too, with recipes for cumin flaky salt and Irish seaweed salt. All you need to do now, is find something to enhance with a jammy, glossy egg. Over to you …