Tag: egg

Brussels & Kale Caesar

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This is a recreation/improvement on a salad I bought from Dean & Deluca last week. This version is eeeeeerrrrything I wanted that version to be – and then some (so good, in fact, that I got distracted while tasting it and putting my rings back on the wrong hands). The D&D version was good – but not Hannibal Lecter good (lost? explanation coming). Fine to smash at 9pm while waiting for the Ferry, but not what one would unpack ceremoniously from a fine box while going someplace.

I remember the first time I saw Silence Of The Lambs – the movie was great and all, but what *really* struck my little food nerd of a preteen heart was the end scene where Hannibal Lecter unpacks a Dean & Deluca picnic spread with great relish while on a plane. That spread (minus the brains, of course) set some life goals in place immediately (namely to shop there, live in NYC so I can shop there at will, and get one of those picnic packs). I also mailed away for a subscription to their quarterly catalog and kept that subscription going until I went away to college. Never ordered anything, but I drooled and dreamed.

While I’ve achieved two of those goals, I’m sad to say I have not gotten a picnic pack – mostly because while I love Dean & Deluca in theory, in practice most of the freshly made food I’ve gotten from D&D isn’t as amazing as I want it to be – and I’m not spending a Quintilian dollars on plane snacks when I can make my own. Possibly also because preteen me’s love of fancy packaging and tiny food is a tall order to live up to, and those packs always feature a bunch of stuff I’m not excited about – like gummy bears and other candy. Note to self: make my own tin-based travel pack packed with stuff I *do* like.

Gluten-free, paleo


Brussels & Kale Caesar

2 cups roasted Brussels sprouts halves (I roasted mine in some bacon grease on 400 for 25/30 minutes until deeply nutty brown)
3 cups baby kale
1 large clove garlic, smashed in a mortar & pestle
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 big pinch sea salt
Black pepper
1/2 tsp. lime juice (lemon would be more classic, but all I had was a bottle of my favorite Key Lime juice)
3 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp. rice vinegar
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 raw egg
1/2 cup raw almonds, chopped
1 anchovy, minced

To make: Roast the Brussels. While roasting, assemble the dressing.

Put two of your eggs in a small pot and cover with a couple inches water. When the water is boiling, lower a third egg down in a ladle so it is covered by the water but you still have a hold of it. Boil 1 minute and remove, immediately running under cold water or dunking into an ice bath. Let your other eggs go until you whisk the dressing, cover the pot and kill the heat, let sit until you’re done with the rest of the salad.

Crush the garlic in a mortar and pestle; add to a large bowl. Mince the anchovy and add. Add the coddled egg, Worcestershire, citrus juice, salt, a bunch of pepper, olive oil, and vinegar. Whisk to combine.

Chop the almonds and set aside.

When the Brussels are finished browning and have cooled until mostly not hot, add to the bowl with the dressing. Add the kale and almonds; massage to combine thoroughly.

Peel the 2 hard boiled eggs and chop. Fold in gently.

Serves 2 – 3 as a nice lunch or dinner side

Thai-Influenced Chicken Omelette

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I was going to call this dish ‘laaaaadies niiiight! eggs’ since I had to feed myself for dinner last night and wanted an omelet – but not – but that was too long.

I do not like omelettes. Frittatas I can do; I love tamagoyaki, but to me French-style omelettes just taste like wet dog smells and gross me out. They also generally for some reason make my stomach hurt on the rare occasion I get it into my head I want one.

So, for dinner I took inspiration from the Japanese drunk dish – okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki is generally made with cabbage and egg and some other stuff and is delicious and pretty much all things good in the world.

Gluten-free, paleo, Whole30 if you source it right


Thai-Influenced Chicken Omelette

3 eggs
4 ounces chicken breast
1 cubano pepper
2 tsp. sesame oil
2 c. shredded green cabbage
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
1/2 Tbsp. butter or ghee
Juice of 1 lime
Sriracha to taste

Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces and slice the pepper thinly.

In a large skillet, heat the sesame oil. Add the chicken and pepper and sautee until just browned.

Add the cabbage and butter and sautee until the cabbage is softened and browning in spots.

Beat the eggs together with the fish sauce and lime juice. Spread the cabbage mixture out over the bottom of the pan in as even a layer as possible. Pour the egg over. Let sit until the eggs are mostly set.

Sriracha to taste.

Here, if you’re really skilled and awesome – flip that sucker over and cook the other side. I am less awesome, so ended up breaking my eggs up and kind of scrambling them from this point. They were no less delicious.

Serves 1 for dinner

Chicken-And-Egg Zoodles

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I started this meal thinking a nice simple plate of cacio e pepe sounded delicious. But, I don’t eat pasta – and I didn’t have any parmesan. What I *did* have was some CSA fresh zucchini, some bacon ends, a bit of leftover baked chicken and some farm fresh eggs.

A delicious, dead simple, quick-to-prepare dinner was born. And, without heating my apartment to 900 degrees, or filling it with seared meat smoke. #winning

Paleo, gluten-free, whole30 if you source your bacon right

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Chicken-And-Egg Zoodles

4 ounces bacon
4 ounces leftover cooked chicken
1 large zucchini
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp. FOC (fat of choice)
2 eggs per person
More FOC
Salt & pepper

Heat a pan on medium. Chop your bacon and add. Brown. When the bacon is halfway browned, add the leftover chicken and 2 chopped cloves garlic.

Zoodle your zucchini however you accomplish this (I use a spiralizer that works like sharpening a pencil – there are a ton of ways to make noodles out of zucchini).

When the bacon is browned and the chicken is warm, add the zoodles to the pan and toss. Add 2 tsp. olive oil, a few cracks black pepper and a sprinkle of salt. Set aside while you fry the eggs.

Put your pan back over the fire and add more fat. Fry the eggs and use to top the “pasta”.

Serves 2

Avocado + Dill Egg Salad (Paleo)

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This, my friends, is a revelation. I’ve been crushing hard on avocados for months now, and adding them to eggs for a quickie egg salad snack was like a freaking thunderbolt out of the sky. Ridiculously delicious.

I ate inhaled this snack? lunch? heavenlygoodness? in a matter of seconds with nary a thought as to a proper serving vessel. But, if you’re not so inclined, some form of paleo cracker would do nicely – or mash up finer and stuff into egg whites for extra-delicious deviled eggs. Or just eat plain.

Paleo, gluten-free and Whole30-compliant.

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Avocado + Dill Egg Salad

1/2 avocado
2 hard boiled eggs
1 Tbsp. fresh dill
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. Dusseldorf style mustard (or your favorite mustard)
big pinch kosher salt

Peel your eggs and chop or run through an egg slicer twice to get a nice fine dice. Add to a small bowl, along with the avocado, vinegar, mustard and salt. Chop the dill fine and add. Mash everything together with a fork or other mashing apparatus until you like the consistency. Enjoy.

Serves 1 – I suppose this can serve 2 if you’re not a glutton, but for me there is a zero point zero chance I’m sharing something this delicious. Or leaving any in the bowl.  

Italian Sausage and Zucchini Ragout with A Fried Egg

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This is another example of a recipe that came about due to leftovers in the fridge + it’s cold and I need comfort + I want some freakin tomatoes in my life. One of my Nerd Fitness buddies said the description looked like exactly what he was wanting, so I figured you guys might like it too.

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Italian Sausage and Zucchini Ragout with A Fried Egg

Tomato sauce – I actually used a sugar and crap-free jarred prepared variety of marinara (a standard sized glass jar full) and doctored it up with spices because I wanted to see if it could be done without tasting horrible. It wasn’t bad, but I would have much preferred the fresh marinara from this recipe – sans wine, or from this recipe as-is

1 – 1.5 lbs. hot Italian sausage (check your ingredients!)
10 ounces to a pound of crimini (or button) mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
2 eggs
Salt & pepper
Coconut oil or grassfed butter
Red pepper flakes

Set a large tall-sided pan over medium heat. Slip the sausages out of their skins into the pan and break up with a spoon into small bits. Brown. Drain most of the fat and add the onions and mushrooms. Sautee until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms are beginning to break down.

Add the tomato sauce and stir. Taste for seasoning – add salt, pepper and red pepper as needed. Cover. Drop the heat to a simmer and let go 20 minutes to half an hour.

In a separate pan, heat 1 Tbsp. coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, hit with salt and pepper and sautee – stirring frequently – 5 minutes or until al-dente. Add to a bowl.

Heat a Tablespoon or so of coconut oil or butter over medium heat. Add the eggs and fry to your liking, seasoning with salt & pepper as you go.

To assemble: zucchini chunks on the bottom, top with a generous half cup or so of sauce, and top with the eggs.

Sweet Potato & Zucchini Hash with Pork (paleo, Whole30)

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I had a craving. Well, two cravings. I wanted my old best friend comfort food – eggs and hashed browns – and a new friend – Thai laarb (a spicy, deeply flavored crispy pork dish). This version of the standby hash is kicked-up in the nutrition department, features bunches of crumbly crispy pork, and uses up everyone’s favorite summer menace staple, zucchini.

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Sweet Potato & Zucchini Hash with Pork (paleo, Whole30)

1 pound ground pork
2 tsp. coconut oil
2 tsp. sea salt + more to taste
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. granulated garlic
1 Tbsp. onion powder
2 tsp. ground chipotle
1 large sweet potato
1 medium zucchini
1 small onion
2 eggs per person
fat of choice for the eggs
Whole30 approved sriracha
Black pepper

Heat the coconut oil over medium high and add the pork. Break up with a spoon into the smallest pieces possible and add the spices and salt, stirring after each addition. Sautee until deeply browned and crispy and remove to a bowl (reserving the fat).

While the pork is cooking, grate the sweet potatoes, zucchini and onion. Add to the pan with the reserved pork fat when the pork is resting comfortably. Cook, stirring occasionally, until everything is soft and the sweet potato is beginning to brown in spots. Salt and pepper to taste.

In a separate pan, fry the eggs in a fat of your choice until your desired doneness is reached. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve topped with sriracha (I used 2 tsp. per serving)

Serves 2 for dinner + 1 for lunch (with 5-6 eggs)

Braised Celery & Sausage Ragu (Paleo)

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Craving a rich, decadent ragu, but cutting out unnecessary carbs? This is the recipe for you. This dish is luxurious and rich, comes together in about an hour, and feels like it took days to cook. It’s meaty, hearty, and paleo friendly. It even features one of my more favorite braised vegetables, that unsung hero of the kitchen, celery. Never had cooked celery? You’re missing out. Cooked celery goes all slumpy and soft, while keeping a slight fresh taste that just speaks of crisp spring days. Yum.

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Braised Celery & Sausage Ragu (Paleo)
Adapted from Marcella Hazan’s Braised Celery with Onion, Pancetta and Tomatoes on Food 52

1 lb. celery
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 onion
2 oz. pancetta
15 ounce can plum tomatoes
1 lb. hot Italian sausage (4 links)
1 egg per person
2 tsp. or so butter
crushed red pepper
salt & pepper

Cut your celery on a diagonal into 3 inch pieces. Slice the onion very thin. cut the pancetta into strips or dice into cubes.

In a large pan, heat the oil on medium. Add the onion and sautee until light gold. Add the pancetta and cook until the fat becomes translucent. Add 2 links sausage, slipped out of their casings, and sautee (breaking up the sausage into bits as you go) until browned.

Once everything is nice and browned, add the tomatoes and their juice, crushing as you add to the pan. Nestle the remaining 2 sausages in the pan. Add the celery, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and toss to coat well. Pop the lid on and knock the heat down to a steady simmer.

Simmer 15 minutes and check – I ended up cooking my dish for an hour in total to get the doneness I wanted; you may want to go less time if you want crisper celery. At an hour, the celery was nice and soft and the flavors were really well melded. Check every 15-20 minutes or so to make sure things aren’t getting too dry and to give a nice stir. If your mix does get dry, add some water or white wan to the pan. If the mix is too watery; take the lid off, raise the heat, and boil away the excess liquid.

While the ragu is simmering, fry your eggs in butter until the desired doneness – I went for runny yolks and the dish was luscious.

Serves 2 for dinner + 1 for lunch.

Pork & Bacon Quinoa with Peas and an Egg (Gluten-Free)

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Yeah, there’s a lot of meat going on in this dish. But it’s good. This was a meal that came together based on what I was craving – crispy bacon, luscious egg yolk and a carb – and what needed to be used up – a bag of fresh peas, the pork chops I had defrosted, and the celery nubbins hanging out in the crisper.

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Pork & Bacon Quinoa with Peas and an Egg

1/2 cup red quinoa (regular would work just fine)
1 cup turkey stock
1-2 stalks celery (I used the inner core + a few leaves)
1 shallot
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. coconut oil
10 ounces fresh English peas (you can certainly use frozen if that is what you have on hand)
2 ounces bacon (1 thick cut strip)
6 oz. pork chops (2 small boneless)
2 eggs
2 tbsp. parsley

Rinse your quinoa and add to a small saucepan with the turkey stock. Bring to a boil, pop a lid on, and drop the heat to a simmer. Simmer 15-20 minutes, or until the curlicues open and most of the liquid is absorbed.

Dice the celery and shallots; slice the garlic thin. Add to a large sautee pan with the coconut oil and sautee over medium heat until just beginning to brown. Add the peas and sautee, stirring frequently to avoid burning, until peas begin to soften. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Slice the bacon into batons and chop the pork chops into bite-sized pieces.

To the pan (still over medium), add the bacon and fry until the fat begins to render and the bacon is about half-done. Add the pork to the pan and continue cooking until the pork is browned and the bacon is crisped. Remove and set aside, keeping the fat for the eggs.

Return the pan back to the heat and add the eggs. Fry until desired yolk runnyness is reached.

Chop the parsley and use as a garnish.

Serves 2 for dinner.

Spaghetti Squash & Bacon Hash Browns with Eggs and Pepita Chile Sauce

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This is one of those meals that just tumbled together from different bits and bobs + my sometimes-mantra ‘put an egg on it’. I took a souped-up version of the paleo hash browns from one source, added some leftover spicy/nutty sauce, slapped on an egg (or two), and called it dinner. This meal hits the notes for protein, vegetables, freshness, gooeyness, and heat. It’s a winner.

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Spaghetti Squash & Bacon Hash Browns with Eggs and Pepita Chile Sauce

Adapted from Paleo Hash Browns by Health-Bent and Chile Pesto from Tasting Table

For the hash browns

1 spaghetti squash
1 yellow onion
2 Tbsp. rosemary
4 slices thick cut bacon
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. chili powder
Salt & pepper to taste

For the pepita chile sauce

5 dried mixed chiles (I used 2 black chiles, and 1 long chile of indeterminate origin – the recipe called for guajillo)
3 dried ancho chiles
1 1/2 c. boiling water
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c. pepitas
2 limes
1/4 c. cilantro
Big pinch red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic
Big pinch salt
Big pinch pepper

Fat of choice for frying and eggs
2 eggs per person

Preheat the oven to 450. While your oven is heating, split the squash in half longwise and scoop out the seeds. Rub with olive oil, sprinkle with salt & pepper, and place cut sides down on a cookie sheet.

Dice the onion and chop the rosemary.

When the oven is hot, put your squash in and roast 20 mins. Flip the squash over and cook an additional 15 minutes. You will know the squash is done when you can run a fork across the flesh and it shreds into threads. Set aside to cool.

While the squash is working, dice and fry the bacon over medium heat, setting aside on paper towels to drain when browned. Drain all but a Tablespoon of fat and sautée the onions until softened and just beginning to turn golden. Add the rosemary and salt & pepper. Remove to a large bowl, and add the bacon.

Now make the sauce. Bring the water to a boil. While you’re waiting, de-stem and seed the chiles and place in a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over top, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit 15 minutes.

While that is going, toast the pepitas a in a dry pan until just beginning to brown. Add to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Chop the garlic and cilantro and add to the pepitas. Add the olive oil, the juice of both limes, and the red pepper flakes. Whiz until a paste is formed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

When the chiles are done, pick out of the water and add to the paste. Whiz until combined. Add 1/2 c. of the chile liquid and whiz to combine. Add the salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. If your sauce is too thick, thin with a bit more chile water – you’re looking for a hearty sauce; more like a loose-ish paste than a spready sauce.

Back to the hash browns.

Your squash should now be cool enough to handle. When it is, shred with a fork into the bowl containing the onions & bacon. Mix everything together, salt and pepper if needed, and add the garlic and chili powder.

Form the spaghetti squash mixture into small patties (you should be able to get about 9) and fry over medium-high heat in a few Tablespoons fat of choice until beginning to brown on each side.

As that is working, fry eggs to your desired doneness in your favorite egg frying fat.

Serve hash brown patties topped with a smear of sauce and eggs, 3 per person + 2 eggs.

Serves 2 for dinner + 1 for lunch, with plenty of leftover sauce.

Caramelized Vegetable & Tomato Ragu with Sausage & Egg

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I’m on a bit of a runny egg kick. Blame it on the weather (we got snow in NYC this last week thanks to my first Nor’easter since moving back up to the frozen North), but I want runny yolks and the silky body they bring to otherwise humble ingredients. The main portion of this dish was initially supposed to be a more runny tomato ragu, but since I inexplicably fail at making any form of marinara, it turned out more substantial – almost like a stew, but not quite as wet. This is a main that needs no starch for backbone – it gets along just fine without. Gluten-free & paleo-friendly.

Caramelized Vegetable & Tomato Ragu with Sausage & Egg

1 head fennel, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
Coconut oil
White wine
4 links Italian sausage
1 red pepper, sliced
1 head collards, big vein removed and ribboned
28 oz. can San Marizano peeled tomatoes
1 palmful red pepper flakes
2 eggs per person

Add all your chopped veggies to a enamel dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot set over medium heat with a bit of coconut oil in the bottom. Sautee, stirring often to avoid burning and deglazing the pan with white wine if things are getting too sticky, until the whole mess is nicely browned and cooked way down. The finer you chop the veg, the quicker the cooking will go – I like roughly 1/2 inch pieces or a little under. I’m not 100% sure how long my veggies took to cook, but it was awhile. Maybe half an hour? 45 minutes? You’re looking for a color here, not a time. Everything should look deeply caramelized, and kind of melted together. Not burnt, but nice and brown and cozy.

While all that is happening, get your additions going. Slip your sausage links out of their casings and sautee in a large pan, breaking it up as you go. Remove to a towel to drain. Add the pepper and collards to the sausage fat and sautee until softened, about 10 mins. Taste everything for salt at this point and add if needed.

When your veggies are cooked down to your liking, add the sausage, collards, and pepper to the pot. Open your can of tomatoes and crush each one into the pot. Alternately, you can crush these separately with a potato masher, but where’s the fun int that? Add the liquid from the can along with the red pepper flakes, pop the lid on, lower the heat, and simmer 30 minutes.

To serve, spoon into a bowl and top with two fried eggs.

Serves 2 for dinner + 2 lunches