Clove

Eggs en Cocotte with Cream, Garlic & Thyme

by:
April  8, 2021
5
1 Ratings
Eggs en Cocotte with Cream, Garlic & Thyme
Photo by Oddur Thorisson
  • Serves 2
Author Notes

Whenever I make a shopping list, eggs are always at the top of it. It's the one ingredient I can never have enough of. I buy them at the fromagerie, where I am sure to get fresh local farm eggs, and they allow me to make my favorite dishes on a whim, whether chocolate swirl meringue, garden cake, or eggs en cocotte. Eggs are always within an arm's reach to satisfy any of my cooking ideas; they make me feel safe in the kitchen. Here is one of my favorite egg-based dishes–here, it's all about comfort and warmth.

Eggs en cocotte is such a simple dish to make, much like a savory pudding. You can be so creative with the recipe by adding cheese, ham, herbs, tomatoes if you like. Anything goes. One of the versions I appreciate most is this one, rich in cream, nutmeg, garlic, and a sprig of fresh thyme. And I can't resist rubbing garlic on toasted baguette–when you dip the bread in the creamy eggs, it's heavenly. —Mimi Thorisson

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup cream (200 ml)
  • 4 eggs
  • A sprig of fresh thyme
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon salted butter
  • Coarse salt and black pepper
  • A few slices of toasted baguette bread (or any bread you like)
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 180°C/ 350°F.
  2. In a saucepan, bring the cream to a soft boil, simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg and mix well. Set aside.
  3. Rub garlic in the base of the cocotte (keep remaining garlic for the bread). Pour the hot cream in the cocotte, and break the eggs one by one into the cream. Place a sprig of thyme, add black pepper and cook uncovered in a preheated oven for approximately 8 minutes. The eggs should not be overcooked and slightly runny.
  4. Rub toasted baguette bread with the remaining garlic clove. Serve with eggs immediately.
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  • Aimee Simmons
    Aimee Simmons
  • Mamazz
    Mamazz
  • Katie Hudson
    Katie Hudson
  • Ondine Vierra
    Ondine Vierra
  • Mimi Thorisson
    Mimi Thorisson
Mimi Thorisson
Mimi Thorisson is the author of Manger, a blog devoted to French cooking, and the host of La Table de Mimi on Canal+ in France. After a career in television and having lived in Hong-Kong, Singapore, London, Reykjavik, and Paris, she settled with her photographer husband, five young children, two older stepchildren, and the family's fourteen dogs in a rural farmhouse in Médoc.

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7 Reviews

Aimee S.
Aimee S. April 26, 2016
I cook my eggs like this regularly. I have seen them called Shired eggs, Baked eggs, en cocotte, and Julia Childs called them all three... :) but there were minor differences in each type...
I love them... :)
 
Heather
Heather January 8, 2015
Perfect. Delicate. Rich, but not too. A day would have a hard time going wrong after this beginning.
 
Mamazz
Mamazz February 18, 2013
I do not have a cocotte but I am looking to get one- what size do you recommend?
 
Aimee S.
Aimee S. April 26, 2016
cocotte is another name for the ramekins that the eggs are cooked in. I know that this question was over two years old, and your question was probably already answered, but if anyone else comes along and reads it and has the same question, it is good to have the answer there for them to see. :)
 
Katie H.
Katie H. February 18, 2013
I always bake mine in a water bath. Maybe I'll try without next time.
 
Ondine V.
Ondine V. February 17, 2013
The butter is added in the cream or it goes on the toast?
 
Mimi T.
Mimi T. February 18, 2013
The butter is added in the cream, just before putting the cocotte in the oven. Enjoy! Mimi