Soft Boiled Eggs with Toast Soldiers

A perfect runny egg with toast 'soldiers' is a fond, long standing memory I have from growing up in the UK. As a children, me and my little sister would often have this on many occasion - for breakfast or even sometimes for dinner too.

To this day, when the mood takes me I make them myself. It's actually quite nice to enjoy something simple for a change and it also brings a little smile to my face thinking back. I also feel like I'm having a 'proper' breakfast. My mom would not be happy to see me with donuts for breakfast. It wasn't even heard of. Of course, they exist but were considered a sweet occasional treat. That's a far cry now, as I make an 18th sighting of Dunkin Donuts across the NJ highway...

Back to the eggs... 'Soldiers' as you may have guessed are the slices of toast. I have no idea why they're called that - ask any Brit- they just are. I guess they're standing straight and tall or maybe the cute name was issued to children in exchange for a finished, empty plate.

Despite appearance, achieving the perfect runny egg you see here has caused some pondering over the years. Everyone wants to replicate their mothers meals, but I found out there's actually more to it. A science if you will, and now I'm going to share my technique.

You'll Need:

Good quality bread. I'm gonna sound like Ina Garten now but I'll just say it... I'm a bread snob. I like a nice rustic boule from Zaro's in NYC, but any good crusty bread will do. Please, anything but white sandwich bread if you want to do it right :)

• Large free range eggs. They taste better and you have piece of mind that it came from a happier hen. Personally, I prefer brown, but any color is fine. To achieve the best results, be sure to choose two that are most similar in size.

• Small saucepan of water with a tight fitting lid.

• Salt and pepper. I like coarse kosher salt for a nice texture and freshly ground black pepper.

• The essential, quintessential Egg cup  - all hail the precious egg cup!

• Butter

Step 1

Fill the saucepan with water. Place the lid on top and bring it to boil. The smaller the pan the better. If you think about it a larger pan of water will take longer to eat and then mess up your timing. This way, it turns out great every time.

Step 2
Set your timer. If you like a soft boiled egg like mine in the picture, set it for 6 minutes. This will ensure the whites are pretty much set, while the yolk will still be runny. Adjust the minutes to your own preference. 8 minutes will have the yolks almost starting to set.

Step 3
Once you have a rapid boil, lift the lid, take your eggs and gently lower them into the hot water. I say gently because the shock of the hot water to a cold egg might cause it to split or, hitting it against the bottom, will obv' do the same thing too. Then, immediately, place the lid back on, turn the temperature to low - as low as possible whilst they're are still tiny bubbles in the water. It should be barely simmering. Then, hit that timer! Now's the part where I like to put my toast on. If you , now would also be the time to put your kettle on to boil for the perfect accompanying cup of tea. (To me, you can't have one without the other).

Step 4
When the time is up, rinse the eggs immediately under cold water until they are cool, not warm to the touch. Don't worry, even if the shell feels cold, the egg inside will still be very much warm.

Step 5
Hit the top of the egg with the back of a spoon to crush the shell. You can then use the same spoon to scoop off the very top of the egg exposing the creamy goodness of the yolk.

Step 6
Butter your toast and cut the slices into soldiers! Yay! This step is obviously mandatory :)

Step 7
Sprinkle the eggs with a salt and pepper. Finally, the part you have been waiting for... This is where you get to dunk your soldiers.


You can now tell everyone that you've been taught how to do so by an authentic Brit. Let me know if this worked for you, if you're trying a simple, healthier breakfast or if you have your own method. I'd love to hear your comments below and for the meantime you can also 'Pin It' to your foodie Pinterest board for later!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy...