Baked Eggs with Spinach and Pancetta

In my cupboard are eight lovely, yellow Le Creuset ramekins that I have never used. They were given to me by my brother and sister-in-law a year (two years?) ago and I just haven't found anything that I wanted to make in them until recently; Baked Eggs with Spinach and Pancetta. I really should call this clean-out-the-fridge-baked-eggs but it doesn't sound as tasty. I just happen to have all these ingredients so this is how these pretty little ramekins got used. May I recommend that you use farm fresh eggs from the farmers market for this dish. The egg is the star of this dish and so you should really use a good quality egg. The kind where the yolk has such a golden color that its almost orange. It will make a big difference in the taste of the dish. I bought a dozen farm fresh eggs today at the Bloomingdale farmers market for $4. There are just some dishes worth spending the extra few bucks for.

Baked Eggs with Spinach and Pancetta
Adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking

4 ramekins
Butter for greasing the ramekins

4 eggs
1/4 lb of pancetta - sliced and then cut into small 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 a cup of frozen spinach - thawed and squeezed dry
8 Tb of heavy cream
1/2 a cup of Fontina Cheese - grated
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Fill a 8x8 pan 3/4 inch of simmering hot water.

Sautee pancetta until crisp. Place on a plate with paper towels to drain out fat. Butter the ramekins and add a tablespoon of cream to each. Add a little spinach, a little cheese, one egg, and another tablespoon of cream into the ramekins. Place ramekins into the 8x8 pan and place in oven. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes. The eggs are done when they are just set but trembling slightly in the ramekin. Do not assume they are underdone and need to sit in the oven longer like I did the first time I made these. They will cook a bit more if you leave them in pan of hot water for a bit longer outside of the oven.

Season with salt and pepper. Top each ramekin with the crisp pancetta and serve with good bread.

Even with the extra money you spend on the fancy eggs, this dish is still pretty low budget. You can also use bacon instead of pancetta if you want to use a less expensive meat. You can use any cheese you have on hand. Frozen spinach is about $2 per bag.