First it was the egg

PalmaThe imposing mulberry tree offered shade and fruit to the hens when it was the season. There was enough space to roam all day, to peck at small blades of grass that didn't have time to grow, or to put an end to some insect that had had the bad luck to enter. At the back was the old nesting box where the birds went to lay their eggs and the old rabbit hutches that now served to store grain. A metal bed base converted into a door that never closed invited the hens to enter when the sun set. I liked to go looking for the eggs, discovering that offering that the little animals left us inside a box covered with straw. It surprised me that they were so unconcerned, absent of jealousy for that perfect little box that had come out of their bodies.

Of the ingredients in our pantry, none possess the duality of the egg. It is, at the same time, the most humble food and the most recurring resource in cooking. Its image can be reduced to the quick recourse of an omelet or a fried egg. However, cookbooks help us to put it in its place, as a versatile ingredient capable of starring in sophisticated dishes and at the same time being the link that gives consistency to a filling or a cream.

Valuable foods

Bird eggs have been valuable foods since prehistoric times, both in hunting societies and in more recent cultures where birds were domesticated, so that in addition to using their meat, they also had their eggs. In ancient Rome, it was customary to start meals with an egg dish. Apicius records in De Re CoquinariaCuriously, many cultures have developed their own egg drop soup where the egg is presented beaten within the broth. Thus, we have pancuit, garlic soup, and Castilian soup, and a little further afield, the

Curiously, many cultures have developed their own egg soup where the egg is beaten into the broth. Thus, we have pancuit, garlic soup, and Castilian soup, and a little further afield, the Chinese egg drop soup, a preparation that is slightly thickened with Indian wheat flour; the Italian stracciatella or avgolemono. In this case, the egg is beaten with lemon juice before adding it to a chicken broth with rice.

Totes aquestes receptes ens mostren una cuina sense gaires pretensions, però que poden arribar a ser ben sofisticades. Aquest és el cas de la recepta d’avui, una adaptació de la sopa d’ous farcits de fra Roger. A la versió original la sopa s’acaba amb pa i formatge ratllat i es gratina en el forn, a l’estil de la sopa de ceba francesa. En el meu cas, he intentat fer-la més lleugera ara que ja no fa tant de fred.