Boiled eggs and soldiers are one of the best things ever. Whether you like them hard-boiled or soft-boiled, it’s easy to get your eggs just right simply by varying the cooking time. A good tip to remember is that if you add a small pinch of salt to the water it will help to prevent the eggs cracking.

serves 2

Ingredients

• • sea salt
• • 4 large eggs, preferably free-range or organic
• • 4 slices of bread
• • butter, to serve

To cook your eggs

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• Get yourself a small saucepan, fill it three-quarters full with water, and bring it to a fast boil
• Add a good pinch of salt and, using a spoon, dip in and out (dipping helps prevent the shock of the change in temperature from fridge to boiling, which sometimes makes them crack open) and then lower the eggs into the water, slowly, so the shells don’t crack on the bottom

To cook your eggs

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• Cook for the following times, depending on how you like your eggs: 5 minutes for runny, 7½ minutes for semi-firm,10 minutes for hard-boiled
• Put your bread on to toast a few minutes before your eggs are ready

To serve your eggs

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• Use a slotted spoon to carefully transfer the eggs to egg cups
• Lightly tap the top of each egg with a teaspoon to crack it, then scoop the top 1cm off so you can see the yolk
• Butter your toast and cut into soldiers, then get dipping