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Egg Florentine

Uova alla Fiorentina is a favorite of Tuscans and cucina-italian-loving cooks everywhere. The dish consists of a flowing cream sauce over gently poached eggs nestled on a bed of spinach. The flavor of Parmesan cheese cream sauce and the tart greens blend with soft-cooked eggs. Think fondue in a ramekin. Served with delicate toast points or hearty country bread makes it a light meal.
Uova alla Fiorentina has three components— besciamella or cream sauce, cooked spinach, and poached egg. To simplify the process of serving the dish, make the cream sauce and prepare the spinach ahead. Then reheat them just before serving.  The cream sauce keeps for up to 48 hours under refrigeration.  To store the cream sauce, pour it into a quart storage container.  Place a piece of plastic wrap on top touching the sauce so that it doesn't form a skin.  Cover the container and refrigerate it. When reheating the cream sauce, add a little milk, if necessary, to thin it to the consistency of thick cream.
Looking for ways to put your own signature onto this dish? Sauteed porcini or cremini mushrooms and a few drops of truffle oil can be added to the sauteed spinach. Some chefs include leaves of basil or other greens too. Golden raisins add a medieval touch to the cooked greens. Consider placing slivers of prosciutto or good hard salami on top of the poached egg before serving. 
We flavor the sauce lightly with Parmesan cheese. You could add grated fontina or taleggio too. A teaspoon of tomato paste stirred into the cream sauce will give it a subtle tomato taste and delicate pink color, perfect if serving your loved one.
If you are looking for a fun way to treat a sweetheart, serve Eggs Florentine-Style with slices of bread cut with a cookie cutter into heart shapes. A garnish with caviar elevates it to something truly celebratory. (It may surprise many to learn that Italy produces some of the finest caviar. Calvisius Caviar, in the Brescia region of Italy, sustainably raises several varieties of sturgeon. Their fish live in ponds fed by local spring water of the Po River Valley. Prepared using the traditional Russian malossol or low salt method, their caviar has less than 5 percent salt.) Caviar makes this comforting dish swoonworthy.
Course: Main Course
Servings: 4

Ingredients

For the besciamella (cream sauce)

  • 2 tbsp (1 ounce) butter
  • 3 tbsp (¾ ounce) flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • ⅓-½ cup (1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
  • salt, pepper, grated nutmeg

For the spinach

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 pound fresh spinach, stems removed

For the finished dish

  • 1 tbsp white vinegar
  • 4 whole eggs
  • toasted country bread
  • chopped parsley, dill, cilantro, if using
  • caviar, if using

Instructions

  • For the besciamella (cream sauce), melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour cooking until the mixture lightens and starts to bubble around the edges. Whisk in the milk, a little at a time. Remove from the heat and whisk in the parmesan. Adjust the seasonings to taste. Set aside.
  • For the spinach, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about one minute.  Add the spinach. Stir and cook until the spinach wilts and is cooked through, for about 3 to 4 minutes.  Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Set aside.
  • For the finished dish. When ready to serve the dish, turn the oven on to 400F. Line a dinner plate with a clean tea towel.  Bring two quarts of water to boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to barely simmering. Add the vinegar. 
  • Place 4 shallow ramekins on a baking sheet. Divide the spinach evenly between the ramekins. Keep warm
  • Crack each egg into a tea cup or ramekin. Gently pour each egg into the simmering water. Simmer the eggs for 4 to 5 minutes for soft boil. Remove each egg from the water with a slotted spoon and transfer them to the towel-lined plate. Then transfer each drained egg into one of the ramekins. Spoon some of the warm cream sauce over each egg.
  • Place the tray into the oven for 3 - 5 minutes to brown lightly, if desired. Garnish each portion with some caviar and chopped herbs, if using.  Serve with toasted bread.