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Eggs and Onions
Fry some onions, nicely sliced, in butter; put a rather large sprinkling of cayenne pepper over them. Drain them from the butter, and put them on a dish before the fire to dry a little. Press out the juice of a lemon over them, and then lay nicely-poached eggs on the top. Serve very hot. Time to fry onions, five minutes; to poach eggs, three to four minutes. Six eggs sufficient for three persons.
A quick supper dish that depends almost entirely on how far you take the onions. The instructions are complete as written; the notes below are about pacing and proportion.
- The hinge: don't rush the onionsThe hinge: how far you take the onions -- The recipe's five minutes will give onions that are softened rather than browned. If you want sweeter, golden onions instead, slice them thin and allow 10-15 minutes over medium heat, stirring.
- QuantitiesBeyond six eggs and the juice of one lemon, none are given. For three people you might reckon on two large onions and about 2 oz (50 g) butter.
- Cayenne"A rather large sprinkling" is vague; a quarter to half a teaspoon for two onions is one reading of it. The recipe puts it over the onions in the pan, so watch that it does not scorch.
- "Before the fire"An open hearth or the front of a range, used here as a warming spot. A low oven at 200F (95C) or a warmed plate does the same job of drying the onions and holding them hot.
- DrainingTip the onions into a sieve rather than blotting them. Butter that has taken on cayenne and onion is worth keeping.
- PoachingThree to four minutes gives a set white and a liquid yolk, which is what the dish wants — the yolk becomes the sauce with the lemon juice. Use the freshest eggs available and a splash of vinegar in barely simmering water.
- Order of assemblyThe recipe's order is juice over the onions, then the eggs on top; add the lemon off the heat and serve promptly, as the dish is meant to go to table very hot.
- ServingSix eggs for three is a light supper or a substantial breakfast. Buttered toast or fried bread underneath turns it into a full meal and catches the yolk.
Cassell's belongs to the great age of the British egg dish, when a household cookery dictionary was expected to supply dozens of ways with eggs for breakfast, luncheon, supper and the invalid tray. Eggs and onions of this kind sit in a broad family of savoury dishes built on fried onion and cayenne, a pairing that turns up in devilled dishes, kedgeree seasonings and curried eggs throughout the period. Nothing here needs a joint of meat or a long fire, which is largely the point: a hot dish that could be made in a quarter of an hour from what was already in the larder earned its place.