Some egg dishes are standards: revoltillo, tortilla, Florecitas de Huevos Rellenos (Deviled Eggs) and Huevos pasados por agua. Standards in my mind, at least.
Eggs Florentine, if this is what I made, and Eggs in Cheese Sauce are not standard. And, while I’ll leave the anchovy paste of the Huevos a la Florentina (Eggs Florentine) behind, there is no chance you’ll catch me modifying Huevos en Salsa de Queso (Eggs in Cheese Sauce). Ever.
Recipe #168: Huevos a la Florentina
I decided to try this recipe on the day I found anchovy paste in the Publix in the Keys. I remembered there was a recipe that called for it and that’s how we got here. Reading through the prep, it wasn’t one I was excited to try.
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Preparing the dish is simple, really. Sauteeing spinach is fun.
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Putting the spinach in little ramekins and cracking an egg in the middle is funner.
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Taking the anchovy paste that comes in a toothpaste-like tube and circling it 'round the egg yolks, well, that’s just creepy.
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Grating gouda over the top, back to the good stuff.
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And baking them in the oven for about 10 minutes, until the egg sets, is just plain greatness.
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Anchovy paste should be used at the discretion of the comensal (the one doing the eating). I’ll just dab my egg yolks in the middle with a pea-sized anchovy drop next time. That will do the trick.
Now, on the other extreme of the spectrum, we have the best egg dish known to mankind (read: known to me from the 7 of 27 egg recipes I’ve made so far).
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Any recipe that starts by having you make a cream sauce to add cheese automatically falls into the awesome category.
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To this day, I’m still not 100% sure that I know what an acemita is. I know it’s a bread, similar to an English muffin, or a flatbread, or unleavened bread. I haven’t found a package labeled, acemita, which is frustrating. So, if anyone has insight on this, please share. I’ve used either English muffins or Arnold’s Sandwich Thins, as they’re as close as I can get to what I think an acemita is.
You build an egg sandwich on your toasted, mayo spread, bread and you drench it with your cheese sauce.
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Then you bake it for 10 minutes until the cheese gets bubbly and brown.
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You top it with perejil (parsley) for Cuban-ness and you take a bite. Of heaven. On a plate. Smothered with cheese. On an acemita wannabe.
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My favorite egg dish, indeed.
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