Easter Eggs, Two Ways - Modernist Cuisine

Easter Eggs, Two Ways

Recipe • April 19, 2014

Good Easter eggs shelter hidden surprises—plastic eggs break open to reveal jelly beans, and chocolate eggs often hide nougat, caramel, fudge, or peanut butter. We embraced this idea, but reimagined the egg’s contents in our own versions of this iconic treat. Our first egg is a tribute to our favorite candy eggs, with a bit of a twist.

Serrano Egg

Chocolate on the outside, when cracked open, another iconic Easter dish is unveiled: ham. Serrano ham to be precise. Have no fear, the center is made of chocolate as well.

Serrano Egg_MG_3460 Blog

Our featured recipe, however, approaches the concept of the Easter egg in a very different way. Instead of being filled with sweets, these eggs contain savory fillings of shiitake custard and shrimp foam, topped with a bit of crab dressed with chives, lemon, and chervils. The flavors and textures of this dish are quite delicate and refreshing, which contrast the sweet, rich fillings of other egg-shaped confections. This recipe is the perfect addition to any Easter celebration.

Eggbot Eggs_03931


Recipe

Easter Egg Recipe

Tips & Substitutions

Steps 1–2
  • We used an Egg-Bot to decorate our eggs because of its design precision and cool factor, but any traditional method of decorating eggs will work.
  • We recommend using fine-point Sharpies with the Egg-Bot.
Step 3
  • Although some components of this recipe can be made a day ahead, the crab should not be dressed too early. For best results, prepare your crab on the day of service.
Steps 4–11
  • To save time, prepare the shrimp and shiitake cream infusions at the same time, because both infusions require 3.5 hours to cook in a 65 °C / 149 °F water bath.
Steps 12–20
  • The shrimp cream and shiitake custard can be prepared a day ahead and refrigerated overnight.
  • Step 14 should be timed so that your siphon goes into the water bath an hour before assembling the eggs.
Steps 21–23
  • If you prepare your custard and foam on the day of service, make sure they are cooled completely before reheating them.
  • In Step 22, let the custards reheat for 10 minutes in your combi oven before proceeding to the assembly step.
  • In Step 23, it is essential to allow your dressed crab to reach room temperature before placing it on your custard. If the crab is too cold, it will change the temperature of the plated dish.
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