Eggs Grand-Duc (Poached or Soft-Boiled)

Ingredients

• eggs
• fried croutons
• crayfish tails
• truffle slices
• Mornay sauce
• asparagus tips
• vol-au-vent or pastry shell

Instructions

1. This dish is prepared in two ways:
2. Method A (Fried Crouton Base):
3. Arrange the poached or soft-boiled eggs in a circle on a platter, each resting on a fried crouton. Place a crayfish tail between each egg and a truffle slice on top of each egg. Coat generously with Mornay sauce (béchamel enriched with cheese) and glaze briskly in the oven. As you remove the platter from the oven, arrange a fine bouquet of asparagus tips bound with butter in the center.
4. Method B (Pastry Shell):
5. Arrange the poached or soft-boiled eggs in a circle within a blind-baked vol-au-vent or pastry shell (croustade cuite à blanc) set in a flan ring sized to accommodate the number of eggs. Place a truffle slice on each egg and a crayfish tail between each. Coat with Mornay sauce and glaze briskly in the oven. Upon removing from the oven, garnish the center with asparagus tips, crowned with a neat bouquet.