Skidne æg

The story

Skidne æg means dirty eggs, and the name comes from the day rather than the dish. Lex, the Danish national encyclopedia, explains that it refers to skidenlørdag, a nickname for Holy Saturday, which followed two holidays on which people traditionally did not clean house. In 2027 that Saturday falls on March 27. The same source calls the dish a classic of Danish Easter: halved boiled or poached eggs on a béchamel sauce seasoned with coarse mustard, garnished with cress and eaten with rye bread. Its article on Easter records that skidne æg were traditionally eaten on that Saturday, after the plain food of Good Friday, such as rye porridge, and before Easter morning, when the eating of eggs traditionally began. Skagen Online, a Danish guide to holiday food, still lists the dish for Holy Saturday and adds that a Danish Easter table needs plenty of eggs. The Local, an English-language news site in Denmark, lists the dish among the eggs of the Easter lunch as well. The sauce is a plain white sauce with mustard stirred in at the end, so it takes about as long as the eggs. Cook both at once, warm the plates, and serve it as a light lunch with toasted rye bread and crisp bacon.