Baked eggs, duck rillettes, chestnuts, parsnip purée & parsnip crisps

Method

For the parsnip purée, peel the parsnips and cut them in half down the middle, then remove and discard the woody centre. Slice the parsnips as thinly as possible. In a saucepan over low heat, soften the onion and garlic in the butter until translucent. Add the remaining purée ingredients and cook for 20 minutes until the parsnip is soft. At this point, half of the liquid should have evaporated. Allow to cool slightly. In a blender or food processor, blend the parsnip mixture until smooth, and add extra seasoning if needed. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place four small (300 ml) cast-iron cocottes in the oven for 10 minutes. Transfer the cocottes to the stove top over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of oil to each cocotte, add divide spinach between the cocottes and allow it to wilt, then add the duck rillettes and sliced chestnuts and mix to combine. Once the duck mixture is warm, break three whole eggs into each cocotte, then top each cocotte with a large tablespoon of the parsnip purée. Stir gently so as not to break the yolks. Transfer the cocottes to the top shelf of the oven set to grill function, and cook for another 3 minutes or so to cook through and to colour. The dish is ready when the egg whites have only just cooked and the yolks are still runny. To finish, top the baked eggs with the chopped tarragon and parsnip crisps and serve with lots of crusty baguette.