Eggs in a Nest

• Butter for greasing tin
• 1/2 pound spaghetti or capellini
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or pecorino cheese, divided
• Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
• Pinch of piment despelette or hot paprika
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 6 quail eggs
• Fresh herbs, fried shallots, or pesto, for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and lightly butter a regular-size 6-cup muffin tin.
2. Cook the pasta according to the package directions until al dente.
3. While the pasta is cooking, in a large bowl stir together the cream, 1/4 cup of the cheese, nutmeg, and piment despelette.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Using a pasta spoon, scoop the cooked pasta out of the water and into the cream mixture.
6. Stir well to coat each strand.
7. Add a little of the pasta water if the cream starts to clump.
8. Let the pasta rest in the cream for a couple of minutes.
9. Using tongs, grab a small amount of the pasta and let it hang for a minute over the bowl to straighten.
10. Then place it in one of the muffin cups, forming a spiral as you lay it in.
11. Dont worry too much about making a perfect nest, but do leave a little indentation in the middle.
12. Repeat with the remaining pasta, filling all the cups.
13. If you still have some cream in the bowl, pour enough into each nest so you can just see it starting to show through the top layer of pasta.
14. If youre out of liquid, get a bit more cream to top off each nest.
15. Divide the remaining 1/4 cup cheese among the nests, sprinkling it on top.
16. Bake the nests until the tops are golden and bubbly, about 10 minutes.
17. Remove the tin from the oven and carefully, so as not to burn yourself, crack a quail egg into the center of each nest.
18. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake the eggs for 5 minutes, or until the whites have set.
19. Let the gratin cool for 5 to 10 minutes to firm up before serving.
20. Garnish with the herbs, shallots, or a little pesto.
21. Yum!

butter, capellini, heavy cream, pecorino cheese, ground nutmeg, piment, salt, eggs, fresh herbs

Taken from www.cookstr.com/recipes/eggs-in-a-nest-2 (may not work)