Stuffed Eggs, part 2 -- another recipe from the Transylvanian cookbook

This is my second attempt at stuffing eggs by following a recipe from the Transylvanian cookbook.  You can see the first attempt's write up here. 

This is the digital translation of a book in Hungarian that I have tried recipes from before.  Here is the book reference:

The Prince of Transylvania’s court cookbook 

From the 16th century 

THE SCIENCE OF COOKING

You can find a copy of it here:  http://www.medievalcookery.com/etexts/transylvania-v2.pdf

The recipes I have tried are here:  Prince of Transylvania's court cookbook

These are the recipes I picked out.  Today I am trying the second one, using the experience and ideas I got from trying the first one.

Stuffed Eggs

(532) Stuffed eggs. Poke a hole into the eggs, blow out the insides, fry it and slice it, stuff it with honey, black pepper, currants, saffron and cinnamon, then put it on a thin skewer, roast it far from the coal, then serve it.

(599) Egg stuffed in shell. Put twelve eggs on a plate, poke a hole in them, blow out the white and the yolk. Once blown out, add black pepper, saffron and salt, put them into butter and cook it, cut it with a knife, whip two raw eggs, add sugar, small grapes and some parsley. Then pour it back into the egg shell. Make a skewer, put the eggs on it, and roast them.

(601) Stuffed egg white. Wash the egg, boil it, once boiling, pour the hot water down and add some cold water. Poke the end, blow out the yolk onto a pot, leave the whites inside. Cook the yolk like scrambled eggs, add sugar, saffron, black pepper, salt and small grapes. Put some parsley and whip some eggs into it, stuff it into the shell, boil it again in water, once boiled, take down the shell, only the white will be stuffed. Put it on a skewer and roast it; you can make any sauce.


My Redaction

5 eggs
butter for cooking the eggs
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 pinches ground saffron
1/4 tsp salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons dried currants
1 teaspoon dried parsley

Preheat oven to 225 degrees F.

Pierce and blow four of the eggs as described in part 1.  Set aside the shells.

Beat the whites and yolks well, then mix in the black pepper, saffron, and salt.

Melt the butter and scramble the eggs, but stop the cooking while the eggs are still very moist.  Immediately move the eggs into a bowl and cut or mash with a fork.

Scrambled, still moist

Scrambled, moist, and broken up with a fork

Add the sugar, parsley, and currants, then mix well. 

All the ingredients together

Pierce and blow the remaining egg.  Beat the white and yolk, then add to the scrambled egg mixture.  Mix well.  The result should be very wet and chunky.

Wet!

Using a small spoon, fill each shell to almost full.  It is like feeding a baby:  Spoon some into the hole and then use the spoon to scoop up and redeposit what didn't make it into the hole the first time.  Also, it helps to hold the shell so that one finger covers the little hole in the bottom to stop leaks.

Wipe the filled shell with a damp cloth to clean it, then dry it with another cloth. 

Once all the shells are filled, bake for 35 minutes.  Serve hot or warm.

Note:  The stuffing may have expanded and run onto the outside of the shell.  You might want to wipe it off with a warm, damp cloth before serving.

In need of cleaning

The Verdict

One goal I had this time was to boost the flavorings up to make the stuffing more interesting.  All my guest tasters agreed I achieved that goal.  Even the person who said the first attempt was bland and not exciting!  While one said the texture was still very much like oatmeal, it was intriguing and flavorful oatmeal, which made all the difference.  Everyone liked the result.

Easiest to eat it cut in half.

I could taste the egg (the chunks were bigger this time) and the pepper made an interesting tingle on my tongue.  The salt and sweet balance were just right, and the saffron and parsley made a light undercurrent of flavor throughout.  The currants were pleasant little bursts of chewy and sweet to give a change to the texture.

We all agreed this would make a fun sotelty, as something to serve at the beginning of the meal to start it off with a fun surprise.  Each egg was just a few bites, a perfect size for an appetizer.

Success!

It was easier to stuff the shells with the very moist mixture.  The moisture made the mixture flow more into the shell.  It was easier to compact it by gently shaking the egg or stirring the mixture with a thin tool.  It took less time to stuff each shell.

I baked them longer this time because I wanted to make sure it they were cooked all the way through.  35 minutes achieved that, although I think they could have gone longer, up to 40 minutes.  The inside texture was moist but cooked, and not at all dry.