Eggs En Cocotte With Mushrooms

salt
freshly ground black pepper
pinch of paprika
25 g/1 oz polyunsaturated margarine
50 g/2 oz mushrooms, wiped and chopped
4 eggs
150 ml/1/4 pint single cream
chopped parsley, to garnish

Lightly grease 4 cocotte or ramekin dishes, or a shallow ovenproof dish, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. Melt the margarine in a saucepan and saute the mushrooms until softened. Divide the mushrooms between the dishes or put into the large dish.

Break an egg into each dish, if using individual ones, and place the dishes or dish in a roasting tilt half-filled with water. Bake in the centre of a preheated moderate oven (180 °C/350 °F, Gas Mark 4) for about 10 minutes until the whites are barely set, and the yolks still soft.

Meanwhile, heat the cream in a saucepan, but do not. let it boil. Remove the dishes or dish front the oven and spoon the cream over each egg. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with hot toast.

The eggs will continue cooking after the dish has been removed from the oven, so be careful not to overcook them.

SERVES 4