Eggs à la Belle-Hélène (Poached or Soft-Boiled)

Name: Eggs à la Belle-Hélène (Poached or Soft-Boiled)
Cuisine: France
Ingredients: 500 grams asparagus tips, blanched and refreshed; 2 decilitres béchamel sauce (thick/reduced); 3 egg yolks egg yolks; fresh, finely ground breadcrumbs; oil or fat for deep frying; poached or soft-boiled eggs; suprême sauce

Origin: Paris, France

Source: Auguste Escoffier, 1907

Ingredients

500 grams asparagus tips, blanched and refreshed
2 decilitres béchamel sauce (thick/reduced)
3 egg yolks egg yolks
fresh, finely ground breadcrumbs
oil or fat for deep frying
poached or soft-boiled eggs
suprême sauce

Instructions

Prepare a croquette mixture with the blanched asparagus tips, kept slightly firm. Refresh them in cold water and pat them dry. Bind the asparagus with the reduced béchamel sauce and egg yolks. Form the mixture into round or oval croquettes. Coat them thoroughly with very fine fresh breadcrumbs. Fry the croquettes at the moment of service. Arrange the poached or soft-boiled eggs on top of the croquettes and nap them with suprême sauce (silky cream and velouté-based sauce).