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Onion and Eggs
Wash and peel a large Spanish onion. Cut it into slices about a quarter of an inch in thickness, strew a little salt and pepper over these, and fry them in hot butter until they are tender, without being browned. Take the pieces up with an egg-slicer to preserve them whole, drain well from the fat, and place them on a hot dish. Squeeze the juice of 2 large fresh lemons upon them. Have ready 4 poached eggs, place these on the onions, and serve immediately. Time, twenty minutes altogether.
A simple supper dish that lives or dies on how gently the onion is cooked. Twenty minutes total is realistic only if the eggs are poached while the onion softens.
- The hinge: no colourThe onion slices must go soft and translucent without browning, which means moderate heat and patience rather than a hot pan. Once the edges catch, the sweetness turns bitter and the lemon has nothing to balance.
- Keeping the rings wholeAn "egg-slicer" here is a slotted egg lifter or slice, not a wire cutter. A wide fish spatula does the same job; slide it under the whole slice rather than turning the onion repeatedly.
- Spanish onionA large, mild onion. A sweet onion such as Vidalia works; a small hot cooking onion does not, as the flavour is too sharp for this quantity of lemon.
- Lemon quantityTwo lemons over one onion is a great deal of acid by modern taste. Start with one, taste, and add more; the juice should read as a dressing, not a marinade.
- ButterButter can brown before the onion is tender. Adding a spoonful of neutral oil, or clarifying the butter, keeps the fat from burning over the time the onion needs.
- DrainingFried onion holds a surprising amount of fat, and the lemon juice will not cut it. Drain the slices on paper or a rack before dressing them, or the finished plate turns greasy.
- Poached eggsPoach in barely simmering water with a splash of vinegar, three minutes for a set white and liquid yolk. Have them going in a second pan so both elements arrive hot.
- YieldFour eggs and one large onion serves two as a light main course, or four at breakfast. Warm the serving dish, as the onion cools quickly once sliced thin.