Enter the Dragon

Uova con Dragoncello in Pasta Filo
Tarragon Eggs in Filo Pastry

  
I just love the Italian name for tarragon, "Dragoncello"- isn't that just wonderful?!! The delicate, anise flavor of tarragon is wonderful too- a perfect accompaniment to many other subtle flavors. Which makes it a perfect addition to an egg or omelette recipe. So this morning at breakfast time, I decided to let my little pet dragon fire up my breakfast eggs and make them into something magical. And here is what I made...

 I lightly coated a small oven dish with olive oil, just to keep the filo dough from sticking, and lined it with 2 layers of dough. I let these wrinkle and fold over on themselves- this is what is going to let the pastry crunch up better later. Then I made a "royale" of egg, milk, nutmeg, salt and  pepper. No cheese. I did add the tiniest amount of very finely chopped bacon and a few very thin shavings of spring onion. But basically, what I wanted to be tasting was the egg and the tarragon and nothing else. I poured the egg mixture carefully onto the filo base being careful to fill every little corner- but also being careful not to overfill it. If you have too much egg in there, it will take too long to cook, will soak into the dough and make it soggy, and just won't work as well. So keep it flat and keep it light. Add plenty of tarragon on top and a little extra nutmeg and pepper. Bake at a moderate heat for around 10 minutes- this all depends on your oven of course. You may want to turn on the broiler to brown them off a little- but be VERY careful! That filo pastry is extra thin and will burn away in a heartbeat- without the aid of a dragons breath! 

A few slices of cherry tomato and a couple of fresh tarragon leaves are the final, finishing touch, to make your crispy, light, filo-wrapped eggs into a satisfying but light little breakfast treat. You could make a whole tray full if you arrange the pastry carefully- they don't need to have a regular shape, all they do need to do is to contain the egg mixture. You could use a muffin tin for example and make little filo cups- just remember not to have too much filling so as not to soak the dough too much and so that the eggs cook quickly. 

Do you have your coffee and orange juice ready yet? Good! Enjoy!