Uova "Il Poggio" (Eggs "Il Poggio")

This is by far the most unusual, complicated deviled egg recipe I've ever encountered. I'm not sure whether or not I like it more than regular deviled eggs, but it is quite tasty and I appreciate the fact that it's something a bit different than the usual approach. I also like that you get a bit of veg built into the dish. Means I don't feel so bad serving it as a major component of our dinner. We had it with polenta con funghi e peproni tonight and I'll probably make some sort of pasta dish to round out the leftovers for dinner tomorrow night.

Uova "Il Poggio"

Slightly adapted from Cooking from an Italian Garden by Paola Scaravelli and Jon Cohen

Ingredients

• 6 large hard-cooked eggs
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1 c. ricotta
• 1/4 c. grated Parmesan
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/4 tsp. dry mustard
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 450g spinach (fresh or frozen)

Béchamel Sauce

• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 3 Tbsp. flour
• 1 1/4 c. table (18%) cream
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt

Directions

1. Once hard-cooked eggs are cool enough to handle, peel them and halve them lengthwise. (If you plunge them into cold water immediate upon being removed from the hot/boiling water, they should not develop the greenish colour on the outside of the yolk and will also cool faster.)
2. Remove the yolks from the hard-cooked eggs. Set the whites aside.
3. In a bowl, combine the hard-cooked egg yolks, softened butter, ricotta, Parmesan, salt, pepper, mustard, and raw yolks.
4. Mix well and set aside.
5. Grease a 23cm (9") square pan and preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
6. Cook the spinach (without any water) and squeeze it to remove excess moisture. Chop finely and set aside.
7. Now make the béchamel sauce.
8. Once the béchamel sauce is complete, add 1/4 c. of the sauce to the egg yolk mixutre.
9. Combine the remaining sauce with the spinach.
10. Pour the spinach sauce into the prepared pan and nestle the hard-cooked egg whites into it.
11. Now beat the raw egg whites to stiff peaks.
12. Mix ~1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture to loosen it.
13. Now pour the egg yolk mixture into the bowl with the remaining whites and carefully fold them in.
14. Spoon the yolk mixture into the hard-cooked whites. You will probably have more yolk mixture than will fit into the whites. If so, just pour the extra over top.
15. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 15-25 minutes.
16. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.