We're betting the egg is going to be big this year. It's inexpensive, a good source a protein, and a nice, easy option for eating light when you want a simple, healthy dinner.
Great, you say, but you want something beyond basic fried, poached, scrambled, and served alongside toast...
Eggs are like the flattering jeans of the food world; they can be dressed up or down, and they go with everything. Here are some non-breakfast suggestions:
Put them in soup. We love adding a well-beaten egg to a simple broth—a great way to get protein and make a soup more filling. You can swirl an egg into any kind of stock; with some pasta and wilted greens, it's a complete meal. Faith's Spinach and Lemon Soup with Orzo, a take on the Greek avgolemono, is delicious.
Use them in sandwiches. Think beyond a typical breakfast sandwich; an egg can stand in for turkey or ham. Add sprouts, avocado, a portobello mushroom, or roasted vegetables.
Crack them on pizza. It doesn't just have to be breakfast pizza. Delicious for dinner, too.
Top a salad with them. The classic frisée aux lardons salad has chunks of bacon and a poached egg on top, which oozes over the greens and makes a luscious sauce with the dressing. But you don't have to go the bacon route. Add a fried or poached egg to a spinach salad so that the leaves wilt a bit under the heat. Top with a balsamic vinaigrette and some shavings of parmesan.
Put them over noodles. Emma's Sesame-Garlic Soba Noodles with Fried Egg is a good example of making a cheap ingredient more satisfying without paying for meat.
Try individual baked eggs. We've written about these before as a breakfast item, but you can throw anything in that ramekin. Roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, lentils, hunks of feta cheese and olives... It's a great way to make a meal for one and use up leftover ingredients.
Stir them into a warm grain salad. You could also do this with risotto. Just stir a beaten egg into couscous, rice, or another grain (try this reverse tabbouleh) while it's still hot, so that the egg cooks and melds with the creamy grains.
Any other suggestions?
Related: How to Fry an Egg the Spanish Way
(Images: Faith Durand)
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
what's the technique for adding eggs to hot soup without ending up with globs of egg poached in the broth?
view thinkingwoman's profile
Thanks for the post! I've been trying to find some good information about eggs and cholesterol. There seems to be a lot of conflicting information out there. Some say eggs are light and healthy (on their own, not fried in a bucket of butter) while the nutritional info says each egg has 70% of the RDA for cholesterol.
One Chinese dish I love is egg & tomato on rice... SO good. (with beef - even better)
Oyako don is another yummy use of egg.
view Plaid Ninja's profile
thinkingwoman: The picture at the top right is what you'll end up with in your soup- very thin ribbons of cooked egg, like Chinese egg drop soup. The key is to beat them well (maybe thinned out with a little lemon juice or broth). And then just pour them into the soup, stirring it as you go.
view Elizabeth P's profile
The faster you stir and the slower you pour the egg the thinner the ribbons of egg will be when you put it into soup. Tried egg drop soup for the first time a couple of years at a restaurant a friend owns and fell in love with it. It's one of my favourites now.
view Zerfall's profile
I take leftover rice and vegetables, add herbs (fresh or dry) and mix bitten eggs. Spread it in a greased baking dish and top it with grated cheese (and some bread crumbs if you like it). Bake it until golden. The eggs keep the dish together, it is a great way to use leftover rice and veggies other than the usual fried rice (which also uses eggs in it.)
I also like to add hard boiled eggs (I use just the whites) in my lentils. Yum!
view pinkbites's profile
I love tamagoyaki, a japanese rolled omelet, served with a mirin-sesame oil dipping sauce.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja8fCHS4aRI
view Eve in Hochelaga's profile
Don't forget crepes. Okay, so you add a little flour and to the eggs...
view whytephoenix's profile
I love poached eggs but I'm too lazy to make them most of the time. Maybe making poached eggs should be my new year's resolution?
I recently discovered crunchy poached eggs ( read about it here: http://danamccauley.wordpress.com/2008/03/26/try-a-crispy-poached-egg ) but I know that if I ever get motivated enough to poach an egg that deep frying it afterwards will be totally too much work.
view Dana McCauley's profile
i have been taking fake-out tamagoyaki (i use an 8" round frying pan rather than the special rectangular pan) for lunch several days a week...it's surprisingly (to me) awesome at room temperature with just a drop or two of soy sauce. it's super fast and easy to make and it really keeps me full until dinner. google around for a how-to online...i found my new favorite egg dish!
view akostalas's profile
A delicious way of enjoying eggs that I discovered while living in Thailand: put a fried egg on top of some pad grapao (ground pork or chicken stir fried with basil, onion and chili peppers). Served with rice, it's a popular breakfast dish but I like it any time of the day! A splash of fish sauce on your egg makes it even yummier. :)
view Tamsin Harriman's profile
I like adding them to stir-frys - sort of a version of Bee-Bim-Bap.
view Sisero's profile