Eggs Colbert

Ingredients

• eggs, poached or soft-boiled
• tartlet shells (croûtes de tartelettes)
• fine spring vegetable garnish (fin printanier)
• béchamel sauce (sauce Béchamel)
• Colbert butter (Beurre Colbert)
• cocotte dishes (small earthenware ramekins)
• poultry forcemeat with fine herbs (farce de volaille aux fines herbes)
• aspic jelly (gelée)
• vegetable macédoine salad (macédoine de légumes en salade)

Instructions

1. This recipe presents three preparations of Œufs Colbert (Eggs Colbert), each named for its serving method:
2. **Poached or Soft-Boiled Variation:** Fill tartlet shells (croûtes de tartelettes) with a fine spring vegetable garnish bound with béchamel sauce (sauce Béchamel). Arrange the poached or soft-boiled eggs on top and serve Colbert butter (Beurre Colbert) separately on the side.
3. **Cocotte Variation:** Line the bottom and sides of small cocotte dishes with a thin layer of poultry forcemeat with fine herbs (farce de volaille aux fines herbes). Crack the eggs into the cocottes and poach in the usual manner. At service, encircle the yolks with a ribbon (cordon) of Colbert butter that has been gently melted.
4. **Cold Preparation:** Line oval molds with aspic jelly (gelée) and fill them chartreuse-style in the old manner (chartreuse à l'ancienne). Place very small poached eggs in the center and fill completely with aspic. Unmold at the moment of service. Arrange the eggs around a dome of vegetable macédoine salad (macédoine de légumes en salade) and surround with a ribbon of clear, finely chopped aspic.