Yesterday morning I got an email from my friends Katie and Amanda, local farmers out here in the country where we're spending the week. Apparently psyched with the spring weather, their hens were laying eggs to the tune of fifty a day, so I rushed over and collected some, still warm from the henhouse. Breakfast was long past; lunch was done, too. How about eggs for dinner?
Surely it's nothing revolutionary since I do it at least once a week, but as we threw together the most simple dinner, it occurred to me that it was worth pointing out to you, dear readers, that eggs for dinner are the way to go when you think you just don't have the time, energy or ingredients for dinner.
In the archives of The Kitchn, I found some delicious egg recipes that will pass for dinner, so I've collected them here for you. Though really, you don't need a recipe to make eggs. My dinner last night, pictured above, was the prior night's orecchiette with asparagus and pancetta, tossed with arugula and a side of sliced ribeye from the night before that, and topped with a poached egg with an almost saffron-hued yolk. Dinner, done.
TOP ROW
• 1 Potato, Red Pepper, and Feta Frittata
• 2 Eggy, Crispy Polenta with Tomatoes and Mushrooms
• 3 Asparagus with Poached Egg, Tarragon and Chives
• 4 Shirred Eggs with Toast Soldiers
• 5 Udon Soup with Bok Choy and Poached Egg
BOTTOM ROWS
• 6 Basic Oven Omelet
• 7 How To Make a Soufflé
• 8 Artichoke, Kale and Ricotta Pie
• 9 Miso Soup with Rice and Poached Egg
• 10 Open-Faced Ravioli with Egg and Wilted Greens
What's your favorite dinner with eggs?
MORE EGGS
• Eggs, Eggs, and More Eggs: Best Egg Recipes and Products
• How To Cook an Egg: 22 Egg Tips & Tutorials
• Perfectly Poached: Some Tips and Tricks for Poaching Eggs
(Images: Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan; see linked recipes for full image credits)
(Originally published April 21, 2011)
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What on earth is that fluffy grey thing on the plate? Ugggh!
I love Nigella Lawson's bacon and egg salad - yummy!
I'm with laffcat. What is that? And that photo is not credited.
I'm going to guess it's a downy feather.
I love putting a fried or poached egg on top of a big salad for dinner. I do this with green salads but sometimes with rice or barley-based ones too.
This time of year, I get the urge to collect the best dandelion greens that I can find (from my unsprayed property, natch) so that I can wilt them in a pan with some olive oil and garlic (and whatever else strikes my fancy). Then I stuff them into a nice, big dinner omelet.
Love ranyart's suggestion for topping salads.
@laffcat, @perkyNbLue it's a feather that I found on one of the eggs.
The photo is credited - bottom of post.
Happy egg eating!
Its a feather - really cute and not urgh at all!
White pizza with arugula, fried egg on top..
Last night I made baked eggs in a tomato sauce with lots of spinach and a little Parmesan mixed in. So simple and delicious!
Egg is usually a staple in my lunch so I hardly ever eat it for dinner, but most of my lunch meals could easily be made for dinner. I like to make my own version of spicy pad thai with a fried egg for lunch. Very easy and quick.
These recipes sound amazing! I really have to learn how to poach an egg...
I'm loving this stream of different ideas for recipes. I made the freeform pasta bake last night and it was great. An awesome idea that I'll use many more times, for sure!
I, too, have a gag reflex toward feathers. The recipes look fantastic, though and I am inspired! Thank you!
Perfect timing; my boyfriend's mother just gave us a dozen farm-fresh eggs and I've been deciding how to use them up. YUM
I love eggs anytime of day.
You forgot my absolute favorite quick dinner from The Kitchn, Sesame-Garlic Soba Noodles with Fried Egg!
@herrington44 How do you make pizza with an egg? It's one of my boyfriend's favorite things to order at a local restaurant and I haven't been able to figure out how to do it at home without over-cooking the egg! That would be a great surprise meal for our up-coming anniversary!
Love this egg post, Sara Kate!
I might be totally boring, but I love a simple cold egg salad in a pita on a warm summer night. Mmmmm.
Shakshuka
http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Eggs-Poached-in-Tomato-Sauce
I made the artichoke, kale, and ricotta pie the other night--fabulous. The leftovers are equally delicious.
Pizza with an egg on it is my favorite "eggs for dinner" meal.
@Pheonixx, you have to let the pizza cook for a bit before you add the egg. I use my oven cranked WAY up (~500F) for pizzas and make mine with pretty thin crust. When I make one with an egg, I usually let the pizza and its other toppings go in the oven for 3-5 minutes then pull it out, crack the egg on the top and throw it back in under the broiler for just a couple minutes. Set whites, runny yolk every time.
I lurrrrve eggs on pizza!
Definitely needed this post! We live in the country and have chickens but cannot sell as many eggs as we have being laid right now! Great ideas! Thanks!
Spaghetti with fried eggs is so simple and so delicious. America's Test Kitchen has a great recipe.
Actually, it's the Salerno-Style Spaghetti with Fried Eggs and Bread Crumbs from Cook's Illustrated. Yum!
Salad Lyonnaise!
Salad greens with bacon lardons, onions, mushrooms, croutons, red wine and dijon vinaigrette and a poached egg on top!
...and here I was living on plain old boiled eggs!!!
The recipes look fantastic! But totally agree the feather created a gag reflex for me. Only because I have been around chickens often enough to know how dirty they are and how important it is to wash the eggs before you use them. Cute feather/still gag.
Pheonixx, I cook the pizza until it is almost
done-then take it out of oven and crack an egg on top and cook pizza for approx. 10 more minutes. I've been experimenting with pizzas
and eggs on pizza for years, but recently found a website called: onehungrymama.com-- I think you'll really enjoy this site. Try Ina Garten's white pizza with arugula recipe.
Make the pizza as indicated in recipe except for adding the egg or eggs and cook for additional 1o minutes or so(the more the better) take it out of the oven and add the Arugula to pizza as indicated in recipe.
Hope this helps..
Salad Lyonnaise sounds great so French..
Gross picture - reminds me of the time when I cracked an egg and found feathers and an embryo inside. Lovely! Let's Eat!
Vertes du puy with some kind of hearty greens, crusty bread and a couple lovely poached eggs, oh yes.
As an pastured egg farmer I feel the need to tell you it is very unsanitary to put a chicken feather on your plate. Also your egg carton (even those strait from the farm) should not have feathers in them, the eggs should be washed before packaging, putting feathers on your plate is asking to get sick.
I'm grateful for the ricotta recipe ideas. I just learned how to make home-made ricotta and it's wonderful! Can't wait to try some new recipes out with it.
Pasta carbonara is great if you have lots of lovely fresh eggs to use up. I like mine very simple, with just egg yolks, pancetta and parmesan. With the egg whites, I make meringues for Eton mess.
I love Turkish style eggs! Good with some crusty bread!
It is picture guys...as in art. I assume we are all familar with the concept of staging. She was not going to eat the feather or the 3 uncooked eggs for that matter.
Thanks Mizrahishopper. You beat me to it. It is unsanitary and unhealthy to have feathers on the plate. Truly disgusting!
WOW. Some of you people are unbelievably CRAZY. Just WOW. Srsly????
It's a lovely pic, showing the diversity in shell colours and the egg-collectors' reality of the odd farm-fresh feather that hitches a ride. I wouldn't worry about putting a feather on a plate. Chickens aren't dirty, unless they are poorly cared for - by careless humans. If you're worried about "catching something" from your chickens' feathers, I suggest you have got greater concerns in your barn that demand your attention, like, your bedding situation or even the health of your flock. In the meantime, brown, blue, pink and speckled eggs are for everyone! Support your local farmgate egg producer.
Egg fried rice. That's my lazy dinner option :)
AmandaRH - totally agree! Haha your post made me laugh out loud. Brilliant!
"It is picture guys...as in art. I assume we are all familar with the concept of staging. She was not going to eat the feather or the 3 uncooked eggs for that matter."
it was the "or the 3 uncooked eggs for that matter." that got me ;)
Fried eggs with steak, Argentine style. Fried eggs and capers on wienerschnitzel, Austrian style. Fried eggs on top of rice and black beans, Cuban style. Huevos Rancheros. Salad Nicoise with tinned yellow fin tuna in olive oil, hardcooked eggs, oil-cured olives...
I love the feather.
And the recipes.
am i the only person who thinks that soufflé looks terrible?
Why not try an egg curry? Keralan Egg Curry
Hash and eggs, French toast with bacon, sausage or ham, leftover spaghetti with scrambled eggs, onion and ham - these are some of the ways my family has eggs for dinner. The quicker the recipe, the better!
Jeez ... The feather's decoration, not supposed to be eaten, I daresay :D
Anyways, great recipes, I'll definitely be trying paste with fried egg some time soon. Sounds like a fun variation of Carbonara.
For me it's got to be quiche. I recently made one with spinach and asparagus that turned out so pretty and emerald green (and tasty, too!)
I love quiche because it's quick to make (can be under an hour!) but delicious, and it seems special and substantial. The basic recipe is simple, but the variations are endless! Roasted mushroom and smoked gouda is a favorite.
Avgolemono (Greek Lemon-Egg Soup) variations: lime juice instead of lemon, quinoa instead of rice, different broths, egg whites+saffron instead of whole eggs, adding spinach or artichoke hearts. The soup goes faster with left-over grains. The main issue is tempering the egg-lemon mixture with hot broth.
Recipe from Food
Eggs in purgatory is my standby. Otherwise, I go for leftovers + fried or poached egg.
I made something with eggs and grits - lovely delicate cakes,, with herbs and cheese. Surprisingly delicious! We had them for dinner, but they'd work for breakfast too, I suppose. Or lunch. We toasted them the next day and had them as an appetizer!
Wow...the feather comment blew me away. My husband and I (and our 3 of 5 kids) homestead on 155 acres where we raise, among other things- chickens. Feathers are the norm around here and definitely not an 'ugh!' In fact, when it comes to the tiny ones (such as displayed in the picture above) they're kind of an 'awww' because that is a down feather- the kind that come from a baby....and the kind folks use to keep warm and comfortable. Nothing 'gross' about that at all. Thanks for sharing the recipes, eggs are a constant staple around here- we have them breakfast, lunch and dinner. The trick is to stay creative, lol. I think the fritatta is exactly what we need for dinner tonight! :)