Eggs Jeannette ~ Jacques Pepin's Mom's Recipe

"Les Oeufs Jeannette" Jacques Pepin shared this recipe devised by his mother many, many years ago and it remains a favorite at my house as well.
It's very tasty, budget friendly and easy to put together.
If you've been reading my blog for a while, you probably know we raise chickens for their eggs. You can read more about our family of feathered friends here (scroll down once you click the link.)
Our current flock includes Ameraucanas, Buff Orpingtons, Gold Lace, Rhode Island Reds, and Silver Lace.
All of them except the Ameraucanas lay various shades of brown and pinkish eggs. The Ameraucanas lay various shades of blue, as you can see below.


However, of these particular hens, one or two of them lay eggs which are more greenish than blue, so I suspect we have a few "Easter Eggers" (a breed which is not recognized by the US Poultry breeders association) but they are reliable layers and produce some of my favorite eggs.
Until the young Ameraucana  or Easter Egger hens begin laying you never know what color eggs they will produce. Contrary to some beliefs, a hen will lay only one color egg her entire laying life. (In other words, she will not lay a blue egg one day, and a green egg the next.)  Also, hens do not need a rooster to lay eggs. Egg laying is simply part of her reproductive cycle. However she does need a rooster if you want fertilized eggs, or chicks! ;)

Anyway, back to the recipe!

This clever method simply consists of hard cooked eggs, halved.  Yolks removed and mashed with a fork (or put through a sieve ~ my preferred way), seasoned with minced parsley and garlic, salt & pepper, then smoothed out with a little milk. The yolk mixture is then returned to the egg white, then the eggs are warmed, cut side down, in a little oil  (I like grape seed oil here) until they are golden brown.
A little of the egg yolk mixture from above is reserved and blended into a tasty Dijon mustard vinaigrette then drizzled over the warm eggs.  I placed them on some baby arugula and accompanied them with a few Kalamata olives. (The eggs are just as delicious served at room temperature.)
These can be served as a light lunch or dinner, or as an appetizer or first course.
If you would like a copy of the recipe, and a little background info about it, you can find it here.
And here is a link to a very short video clip showing Jacques and his daughter Claudine making the recipe at the 2011 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen.
If you try these, I hope you'll enjoy them as much as I do. With grateful thanks to Mme. Jeannette Pepin and Jacques for sharing this wonderful little recipe.
Have a wonderful day everyone. Blessings!
~Mari  xo