Jacques Pépin's Eggs In Poblano Boats Are A Tribute To His Wife - Exclusive

Jacques Pépin is a household name — a French icon who has vastly contributed to the international culinary landscape through his celebrated television series, his years as a culinary educator, and his resourceful and accessible cookbooks. "Cooking My Way" is his latest addition to his over 30 cookbooks, and it tackles French techniques, simple and efficient recipes, and homages to Pépin's upbringing and his loved ones. In an exclusive interview with Tasting Table, he discussed his favorite cooking tips from the new book, useful guidance for cooking economically, and the recipe that was very dear to his late wife, Gloria. 

Pépin dedicates an entire section of the cookbook to different egg preparations. One of those dishes is particularly special: his eggs in poblano boats, which was a favorite of Gloria's that Pépin regularly prepared for her for lunch. "My wife loves those. Yes, I used to do [those] for her. She liked the pepper, the poblano," he told us.

According to Jacques Pépin, the poblano is particularly good for egg dishes "because it is oval, it's deep enough, it's good. Of course, you can absolutely use regular green pepper or red pepper ... [You're] just using [the pepper] as a vessel to be able to cook the food inside." If you do opt for using poblanos, Pépin recommends tasting the pepper first to determine the level of spice. "Sometimes you bite into them and whoa, it's like a jalapeno."

As with many of the dishes in "Cooking My Way," Pépin encourages home cooks to vary the recipe. "[Usually], I put some cheese and some ham underneath ... If you have leftovers from the day before, you can put them in the bottom of the poblano, then put your eggs on top, cook it in the skillet, and have a great lunch or brunch."

While he often prepared the eggs in poblano boats for his wife, Pépin also told us that he loved cooking with eggs himself, naming them as one of his go-to ingredients. "Eggs are an extraordinary thing — maybe the greatest thing you have in your kitchen," he said. "Not only can you have hundreds of different dishes on eggs, but you can get thousands of other dishes [by using them] ... If I had to choose one ingredient that I couldn't do without, it probably would be eggs."

"Cooking My Way" is now available for purchase here. Keep up with all things Jacques Pépin and the Jacques Pépin Foundation on Instagram.