Coddled eggs are very gently cooked. The whites are not as firm as boiled eggs and the yolk is smooth and runny. Add style to these staples by serving an inspiring collection of 'soldiers' or accompaniements to scatter on top.

Ingredients

• 4-6 size 7 eggs, at room temperatures
• dippers beyond butter toast

Method

1. For boiled eggs, bring a saucepan of water to the boil. The water must be deep enough to cover the eggs. Gradually lower the eggs into the water. If an egg shell cracks, quicky drop in a little salt or vinegar to prevent too much loss of egg white into the pot. Simmer, do not boil rapidly for: - 3½ minutes for a soft-boiled egg yolk - 4 minutes for a medium-set egg yolk - 5 minutes for a firm egg yolk Serve in egg cups with a selection of dippers or toppers.
2. For coddled eggs, bring a saucepan of water to the boil. The water must be deep enough to cover the eggs. Gradually lower the eggs into the water. Bring back to the boil, cover and remove from the heat. Set aside for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the water and serve with soldiers beyond buttered toast.
3. DIPPERS BEYOND BUTTERED TOAST
4. Asparagus spears: Blanch asparagus for 1 minute and refresh in cold water. Drain on paper towels.
5. Courgette dippers: Cut narrow, long courgettes lengthwise into quarters. Cut crosswise in half, if wished. Blanch for 30 seconds and refresh in cold water. Serve just warm.
6. Cheesy bread sticks: Cut a crusty loaf into 1-cm thick slices and remove the crusts. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with finely grated Parmesan on both sides. Cut into index finger-sized pieces. Bake at 200ºC for 8-10 minutes until crispy.
7. Grissini sticks: Italian bread sticks, crispy and ready to dip.
8. Tasty toppers: Serve little bowls of "egg friends" to scatter on top. Try finely chopped stuffed olives, gherkins, capers, diced anchovies in good-quality olive oil, crusy fried bacon bits, chopped fresh herbs like dill, chervil, tarragon, chives, parsley or celery tops, or finely chopped chilli for chilli-lovers.

Cooks Tips

- Eggs can be stored in a very cool pantry, though given our warm homes, it is probably best to store eggs in the fridge. - Keep eggs away from foods with strong odours, such as onion or garlic, as these will permeate the egg shell. - Eggs are sold with their pointy ends uppermost, however, they should be stored pointy-end down. - Always bring eggs to room temperature before cooking, especially boiling, as the egg shells can crack from the extremem temperature change. - Simmering eggs, rather than boiling, ensures a tender cooked white. Boiling too rapidly makes the egg white, which is mainly protein, tough. - To centre the egg yolk, stir the eggs for a short while when you first put them into the water to cook. Egg coddlers were created in the late 1800s. They act like a bain-marie, the egg is broken into the well-bruttered porcelain cut, covered - normally with its own lid - lowered into boiling water and cooked for 8-10 minutes untikl the white is lightly cooked and the yolk runny. Additional flavourings like chilli or capers can be sprinkled into the base of an egg coddler before adding the egg and cooking. Oddly enough it takes 7-8 minutes to cook an egg in an egg coddler which would take ony 3 minutes to boil normally.