August 28, 2004
Oeufs de Caille
Quail eggs : one of nature's smallest wonders!
The beautiful thing with these teeny tiny eggs, is that they all look different, each of them with a unique half-inch of personality, random patterns of little smudges and freckles, some brown, some black, some blue.
You half expect them to crack open any minute, letting out a very small gawky dinosaur, or some other thumb-sized critter out of a fantasy.
Maxence bought a tray of them at our fantabulous and newly redecorated grocery store, where shiny bright aisles compete for your attention and unsuspected treasures of modern marketing await you at every turn.
He boiled them for four minutes, and we ate them still warm and soft inside, peeling them with the tips of our fingers, dabbing them into a little mushroom salt, and popping them into our mouths.
Quintessential egg pleasure in just one bite, perfect white-to-yolk ratio.
And just think : mini egg, sunny-side up! mini poached egg! mini oeuf à la coque! even better : mini oeuf cocotte! Oh, the possibilities!
[Related post : the opposite adventure in egg scale, the goose egg!]
 Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs |
 Chiffon Cake |
 Egg Custard |
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Hi Clotilde,
I love those eggs too! I haven't seen them over here, but they're pretty common in Japan. Just don't try to make an omlet, as you will need 20 of them or so! :-)
They are so cute indeed! Farmers Markets, local gourmet and Asian grocers carry them here in Seattle. They are delicious in sushi! It's a pretty popular topping for Nigiri too ("Tobi-Tama"= Flying Fish Eggs with Quail Eggs). Great picture Clothilde!
Hello Clotilde ,
a quick note to let you know how much I love reading your blog in the morning when I get to work here in Australia: a lovely way to start the day.
hi Clotilde,
I came across your blog through a friend's link, and i've now become a fan! Your blog's really lovely and interesting! Of course, i'm a fellow foodie. ;)
Re those quail eggs, we use it in certain Chinese desserts....what we call "tang shui" meaning "sweet soup".
I'm not an egg girl, but I think this recipe is right up your alley. Make puff pastry into the shape of a little nest perhaps 4-6 inches in diameter, and fill with blanched spinach, then mushrooms sauteed in butter, then about 6-8 peeled soft boiled quail's eggs, and top with hollandaise.
The tricky part is peeling the soft boiled eggs -- sort of like peeling eyeballs. It's very, very pretty, and quite tasty (even if I had the version without the eggs). -- the kind of dish that makes me wish I liked eggs!