Eggs Topped With Caviar - A Millionaire's Breakfast

It's so simple and quick to do, this two-egg dish is a delight at breakfast or dinner, whether your guest is a millionaire or your lover, or both.

With advance preparation the cooking process is so fast, you don't have to leave your guest for more than a minute. So have everything ready before your guest arrives.

You will need two good egg cups. The best are those that are plain saucers with a dip in the centre to support the egg. If you only have normal egg cups then place them on saucers because your guest (and you) won't want to lose any of the deliciously runny caviar flavoured egg. If any drips to the saucer you can mop it up with fresh bread and butter.

You will need the right spoons - small ones made of mother of pearl. If you don't have those, plastic teaspoons are a good substitute. Don't use metal teaspoons as that taints the taste of the caviar.

In case this recipe is beginning to sound expensive, it isn't. Black lump fish row is ideal if you can't afford Beluga.

You will need vodka, too, but any brand will do. And fresh cream.

You could start by blending the vodka (one shot is enough for four eggs) with a large dash of cream. Beat it furiously with a fork until it solidifies, and then pop it into the freezer while you get on with the rest of the preparation.

Two eggs per person means four eggs (this is an intimate occasion, isn't it?) But if you are making this for more guests, increase the quantities appropriately.

Now comes the difficult part. You have to cut off the top of each uncooked egg as carefully as possible, leaving a wide opening. Use a sharp knife and be confident. A jagged edge doesn't matter, as long as you have decapitated each egg.

Don't spill the contents, but slip the raw yoke and the white of the eggs into a cup, add just a pinch of freshly ground black pepper and put it aside.

Trash the tops of the eggshells.

Plunge the decapitated eggshells into boiling water. This will cook the membrane remaining in the shell. Remove the shells when they have cooled. Now you have to peel out the membrane and discard it.

You are left with a plain eggshell without a top. Place each shell into its own egg cup.

Preparation is done. You have the jar of caviar ready, the vodka cream in the fridge, and some freshly buttered (use unsalted butter) bread. Now you can enjoy your guest's company until the moment has come to serve your exotic dish.

Ready? OK, go back to the kitchen, put a non-stick frying pan onto a gas fire at a high heat, drop in a huge knob of unsalted butter and let it melt, but don't let it get brown.

Whip it off the stove while it is very hot and pour in your eggs. Keep the frying pan away from the stove while you stir the eggs vigorously with a wooden spoon. You don't want to get the mix as firm as scrambled eggs. It should be barely cooked and soft and runny.

If it doesn't quite blend, hold it over the heat for a few more seconds while stirring rapidly.

Now scoop the egg mix into the eggshells, putting in enough to reach almost to the jagged edge of the eggshell.

Take the cream out of the freezer. It should be solid. Put a dollop into each eggshell on top of the liquid egg and it will begin to melt.

With your plastic spoon, top up each egg with a heap of black caviar. This adds the salt, which is why you didn't put any in the egg mixture.

Carry it graciously to the table and give your favoured guest this delicious egg dish with caviar topping.

From now on you will have a guest staying overnight for breakfast, or dropping in for dinner, whenever you want.

Royston Ellis, author of over 60 biographies, novels and travel guides, now lives in Sri Lanka having left England, where he began as a beat poet, in 1961, age 20, for a life of travel. His latest book, The Big Beat Scene, has just been published by Music Mentor Books ( http://musicmentor0.tripod.com/book_big_beat_scene.html ), in a new edition for the first time in 50 years with a foreword and afterword about his association with The Beatles. Eggs topped with caviar is one of his signature dishes at his cottage. http://roystonellis.com