GATHER JOURNAL

Photograph by Roland Bello Food Styling by Maggie Ruggiero Prop Styling by Kim Ficaro
    

Tea Eggs with Bone Broth

Starters from Issue 2 – Fall / Winter 2013 – Traces

If chicken soup is for the soul, bone is for the body. Even pirates knew of its mysterious nourishing powers, stewing whatever bones they could scrounge up to survive long voyages. Tea egg’s potency is in their strange beauty—a web of tea traces creating an eery marbled effect.

serves 6



Tea Eggs
  • 6 large eggs
  • ½ cup soy sauce
  • 1 whole star anise
  • 2 whole cloves
  • 8 black peppercorns
  • 2 tea bags simple black tea
  • 1 Tbsp sugar

Bone Broth
  • 3 lb beef bones
  • 2 carrots, peeled and quartered
  • 3 stalks celery, quartered
  • 1 onion, unpeeled and quartered
  • 1 head of garlic, split in half
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½ tsp black peppercorns
  • A handful of parsley sprigs

  • 1

    Tea eggs: Put eggs in a medium saucepan with enough water to cover eggs by ½ inch. Bring to a simmer and cook 6 minutes. Drain eggs and when cool enough to handle, gently crack shells with the back of a spoon making lots of tiny fractures in the shells.
  • 2

    Return unpeeled eggs to pot and add soy sauce, spices, tea, sugar, and enough water to cover by 2 inches. Gently simmer eggs 30 minutes then remove from heat and steep covered at room temperature 3 to 4 hours or overnight.
  • 3

    Bone broth: Preheat oven to 425°F. Roast bones in a heavy roasting pan, turning once or twice, until browned, about 40 minutes.
  • 4

    Transfer bones to a stock pot. Add vegetables to roasting pan and roast until browned, about 20 minutes, then transfer to pot discarding fat. Add enough water to cover bones by 3 inches. Bring to a boil and skim off scum that rises to surface. Add bay leaves, peppercorns, and parsley and simmer 3 hours.
  • 5

    Strain discarding vegetables and setting aside bones for serving if you like. Skim off any fat. Serve hot and well seasoned with tea eggs.