Swiss Eggs

A four-ingredient supper dish from the chapter of ways to use up whites left over from custards and cakes. The whole thing lives or dies on heat control.

• Low heat, and nothing higherEgg white sets at a lower temperature than yolk and turns squeaky and rubbery within seconds of setting. Keep the pan barely below a simmer and pull it while the whites still look glossy and soft.
• The panUse a wide, shallow pan or a small gratin dish so the whites sit in a single layer in the cream rather than piling up. A skillet over the lowest burner setting works; the recipe as written is a stovetop dish.
• "Break in whites of eggs"The whites go in unbeaten, dropped into the hot cream so they set in loose curds and sheets. If you beat them first you get a scramble, which is a different dish.
• The cheeseThe recipe does not name the cheese; the title suggests a Swiss type such as Gruyere or Emmental. A quarter cup grated is roughly three-quarters of an ounce to an ounce. Adding it at the very end, as directed, keeps it from stringing or weeping oil.
• CreamA richer cream holds together better here; the recipe specifies only 'cream', with a tablespoon of butter melted into it.
• Straining the creamAfter the eggs are lifted onto the toast, the cream left in the pan will hold small flecks of set white and cheese. Pouring it through a fine strainer over the toast gives a clean sauce rather than a curdled-looking one.
• YieldFour whites and half a cup of cream would make roughly two light servings; the recipe itself gives no yield.
• What to do with the yolksThe recipe leaves them unaccounted for. Yolks keep a day or two covered with a film of water in the refrigerator, and go into custard, mayonnaise or hollandaise.