The dish known in most of the world as Eggs Florentine--an egg sitting on a bed of spinach braised in butter, topped with mornay sauce and shirred in a hot oven--is, in fact, not Italian but a French invention. Some say it was invented by the venerable G.A. Escoffier. (If you care to look it up, it's Recipe No. 400 in the Guide Culinaire.) As many of you probably know, the term "Florentine" is commonly used in French cuisine to denote a dish in which spinach features.
Eggs Florentine, or Uova alla fiorentina, as actually eaten in Florence is rather another thing. As befits Tuscan cooking, it's rather simpler but very satisfying. You make spinaci ripassati in padella, spinach sauteed in garlic and olive oil (see the post entitled "Cookout all'italiana" for the recipe) then, making a well in the spinach (or several if cooking for a group) you drop an egg into the well and cover the pan. Let the egg cook over very gentle heat until done to your liking--if you're like me, until the whites are just cooked and the yolk still runny. Serve immediately with some crusty bread and a crisp white wine.
NOTES: This is a great dish for weekday evenings when you don't have time to spare. Takes about 15 minutes to make.
I like to saute my spinach with a bit of red pepper for heat, although this is not necessarily typical. If you would like a more elegant variation, place the sauteed spinach in individual ramakins, break the eggs over the spinach and top with grated parmesan cheese, then shirr in a hot oven. (This is, obviously, closer to the Escoffier version.)
Eggs Florentine, or Uova alla fiorentina, as actually eaten in Florence is rather another thing. As befits Tuscan cooking, it's rather simpler but very satisfying. You make spinaci ripassati in padella, spinach sauteed in garlic and olive oil (see the post entitled "Cookout all'italiana" for the recipe) then, making a well in the spinach (or several if cooking for a group) you drop an egg into the well and cover the pan. Let the egg cook over very gentle heat until done to your liking--if you're like me, until the whites are just cooked and the yolk still runny. Serve immediately with some crusty bread and a crisp white wine.
NOTES: This is a great dish for weekday evenings when you don't have time to spare. Takes about 15 minutes to make.
I like to saute my spinach with a bit of red pepper for heat, although this is not necessarily typical. If you would like a more elegant variation, place the sauteed spinach in individual ramakins, break the eggs over the spinach and top with grated parmesan cheese, then shirr in a hot oven. (This is, obviously, closer to the Escoffier version.)
