Eggs are on our radar, not least because of coloured eggs hanging off branches in the windows and gardens I pass on each morning run, but more because boiled eggs have shown up as supper. Specifically, as Senfeier or mustard eggs which are well known in Berlin.
In essence it’s a boiled egg (or two) in a mustardy béchamel served on mash and our very first encounter was chef Tim Raue’s take, which referenced his memories of eating it at the Eckkneipe (corner pub) and as he called it, ‘comfort-convenient’ cooking.
Between the soft-boiled egg and sauce of reduced cream it was texturally luxurious, with a cheeky reveal of jalapeño-spiked red beetroot salad when digging in with a spoon, salted potato chips for ramping up crunch and a tongue-in-cheek egg reference: char caviar.
While we tend to dip toast soldiers into soft yolks at breakfast, putting boiled eggs at the centre of a dish is something homestay host, Salimma Edayady, convinced me of on the banks of a canal leading to the Pamba River in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
Salimma prepared a rich and fragrant egg roast by cooking an aromatic base of onion with mustard seeds and green chilli, adding fresh tomato and spices (cardamon, cloves, black pepper, among others) and simmering briefly before adding hard-boiled eggs.
Closer to the banks of the Spree, a more recent taste of Senfeier was made by a Berlinerin who added two different mustards (hot and wholegrain) and served it as the precursor to a game of Scrabble as a show of friendship on a cold night.
Another Berlinerin, who I met subsequently, believes that Mittelscharf or medium-hot mustard is without a doubt the way to go. And opening a box of Eier to find a palette of white, brown, and duck egg blue inspired a revisit.
I can get behind the ease of use of boiling eggs for supper, and the meat-free angle of eggs being the substance of a dish, so on those morning runs there’s been a lot of thinking about what my Senfeier might look like.
Thoughts went from the ‘beetroot reveal’ to warm, roasted (and peeled) beetroot folded through mustard and cream and back to the waterways of Alappuzha and the beetroot Salimma prepared with limes from her garden and toasted mustard seed.
It feels like there’s more to come but in the meantime, if you know how you like your mash and how to boil an egg, here’s the base sauce I’ve been making as a starting point for trying out mustard eggs of your own.
Mustard sauce
Heat 250ml veggie stock into a small saucepan. Melt 45g butter in a small pot over medium-low heat until it starts foaming. Whisk in 30g flour and cook, whisking, until it smells biscuity.
Whisk in a little of the warm stock and continue adding the rest a little at a time, whisking constantly. Once all the stock has been added, turn the heat up to medium-high to bring to the boil. Once it’s boiling, turn down to medium and cook, whisking now and then, for three minutes.
Whisk in 250ml cream and bring back to a simmer. Season with sea salt, white pepper, and at least one generous tablespoon (or more according to your taste) of mustard. Serve immediately.