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.
Preparing the dish is simple, really. Sauteeing spinach is fun.
Putting the spinach in little ramekins and cracking an egg in the middle is funner.
Taking the anchovy paste that comes in a toothpaste-like tube and circling it 'round the egg yolks, well, that’s just creepy.
Grating gouda over the top, back to the good stuff.
And baking them in the oven for about 10 minutes, until the egg sets, is just plain greatness.
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).
Any recipe that starts by having you make a cream sauce to add cheese automatically falls into the awesome category.
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.
Then you bake it for 10 minutes until the cheese gets bubbly and brown.
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.
My favorite egg dish, indeed.
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