Читать книгу The First-Time Cook - Sophie Grigson, Sophie Grigson - Страница 74

There are many ways to fry an egg, but I shall attempt to keep things simple by offering just two of them: firstly the more traditional method, using butter; secondly a more vigorous method, using oil. If you have an excellent non-stick frying pan, you can also cook your eggs with virtually no fat at all (use the first method without the butter), though whether this technically counts as frying is debatable. Fresh eggs (up to a week) produce neater fried eggs than older ones.

Smooth and buttery method Melt a good knob of butter in your frying pan over a moderate heat. When it is foaming, swiftly break your egg(s) into the pan – the older they are the more room you will have to allow for spreading whites. Spoon some of the hot butter over the whites of the egg. Turn the heat down a little and then cover the pan with a lid or a large plate. Cook for about 2 minutes. Lift the lid and inspect the whites of the eggs. If they are still translucent and runny around the yolk, spoon over more hot butter, then replace the lid and leave for another 1–2 minutes by which time they should be done. Once the white has set to a glassy white opacity right up to the edge of the yolk, they are ready. Lift out of the pan with a fish slice and eat right away.

Crisp and bubbly method I love fried eggs with a crisp browned edge to contrast with the smoothness of the rest of the whites, and the richness of a runny yolk, and to achieve this you need heat. Butter burns too quickly, so oil is the preferred frying medium. Spoon 1–2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, or sunflower or vegetable oil into your frying pan, and heat over a fairly high heat. Break the egg(s) carefully into the oil, which should be hot enough to sizzle and spit a little. Spoon the oil over the whites to help them set. Once the eggs have browned a little at the edges, reduce the heat to moderate and continue cooking until the whites are cooked through to the yolk, occasionally spooning the fat over the whites. Lift out of the pan with a fish slice and tuck in.