Baked Eggs with Parmesan and Herbs

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp rosemary, finely chopped
• 0 thyme, finely chopped
• 0 sea salt
• 1 tbsp butter, divided
• 0 olive
• parmesan
• Crusty sourdough bread, to serve
• 1 tbsp double cream, divided
• Dressed green salad, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oven to 190°C. Melt half the butter with the olive oil in a small pan over medium heat — you want it foaming gently, not browning.
2. Add the shallot with a pinch of sea salt and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, until soft, translucent and just starting to smell sweet. The salt now draws the moisture out so the shallot softens rather than catches.
3. Stir in the rosemary and thyme and let them sizzle in the butter for 30 seconds until fragrant — the heat wakes the herb oils up. Take the pan off the heat. You want a loose, buttery, herb-flecked mixture.
4. Drop a small knob of the remaining butter into each of three ramekins and slide them into the oven for a minute or two, until the butter is melted and audibly sizzling.
5. Pull the ramekins out and add a teaspoon of double cream to each — the cream stops the bottoms scorching and keeps the whites silky. Crack two eggs into each ramekin, keeping the yolks intact.
6. Spoon the shallot and herb mixture evenly over the eggs, scatter a generous shower of grated parmesan across the tops, and finish with a grind of black pepper and a small pinch of salt over the whites. Season now — once they're set, you can't reach the whites.
7. Bake for around 7 minutes, until the whites are nearly set but still trembling at the centre.
8. Switch the oven to the grill setting and grill for a further 1 to 2 minutes, until the parmesan is golden and blistered but the yolks still wobble when you nudge a ramekin. Watch it — the line between molten parmesan and burnt parmesan is about 30 seconds.
9. Rest the ramekins for 3 to 5 minutes; they'll keep cooking gently from the residual heat — pull them too late and the yolks set hard.
10. Taste the topping if any spilled onto the dish — adjust salt now, not at the table. Set each ramekin on a plate, scatter the torn parsley over the golden tops, tuck a lemon wedge alongside for a squeeze of lemon over the eggs, and stack the buttered toast soldiers next to them for dipping.