An appetizer that recalls the neighbor Piedmont
Let’s start with the preparation of the leeks. Let’s wash them, remove the outermost layers and cut them into 4 lengthwise. Heat a little oil in a pan and let them caramelize: they must be cooked but not too soft. While the leeks are cooking, heat the water to cook the egg in a saucepan with high sides and a little wide. Salt and pepper the leeks and leave aside.
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Peel the garlic, remove the core and chop it. Melt the anchovies in a small pan with a little oil and the garlic. We add the cream. Let no Piedmontese wish me harm, but this is not a real bagna couda, so don’t lynch me if I use it. If you want to make the recipe lighter however, you can replace the cream partially or completely with bechamel, freshly prepared by dissolving 1 tablespoon of flour in 150 g. milk and then thicken on the heat.
When the water starts to boil we add a spoonful of white vinegar which helps the egg to remain more compact. We open the egg in a bowl, shake the water in the pan with a spoon creating a vortex in the center and pour in the egg. At this point let’s help ourselves with a sieve to move the egg delicately, being careful not to break it. After two and a half minutes (do some tests for the cooking time, depending on whether you want the yolk to be more or less liquid) from when you have thrown in the egg, take it out of the water with the sieve, and place it delicately on a piece of absorbent paper that absorbs excess water. Now we can compose the dish: arrange the leeks to form a sort of nest on the plate, place our egg in the middle and distribute a few spoonfuls of anchovy cream on top. To give some substance to the bites we will make, let’s crumble some Taggia canestrelli, or in any case some savory biscuits or breadsticks, on top of everything. Enjoy your meal!
Ingredients for 4 people:
- 2 medium leeks
- 4 eggs
- 1 tablespoon Raineri anchovies in oil
- 100 g. Cooking cream/or bechamel
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- Salt and pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Crumbled Taggia canestrelli
Difficulty: average
Time: 1 hour
Oil: light fruity
 – Lavocediimperia.it){kind=link}