green strata with goat cheese and herbs.

Sometimes eggs are just the answer.  The answer to breakfast and dinner and snack time (and if we are being honest, they are really the answer all of the time). In this particular dish they are the answer to both breakfast and dinner as I would happily eat this dish morning and night.

The genius part of this strata is the pureed greens.   Somehow the dish is chock-full of greens but it doesn't feel as if you are eating a salad, it just feels as if you are eating bread pudding which is great because bread pudding is awesome.  The addition of goat cheese and herbs turns this into the definition of a well rounded, perfect, and special meal no matter the time of day.  

Green Strata with Goat Cheese and Herbs
Recipe from the NYTimes

I divided the recipe into thirds since it was just me that night.   I think breadwise this serves closer to 8 but it really make it serve 8 you would want to top it with 8 eggs so everyone gets one since no one wants half an egg.  

Serves 6-8

2 cups milk

½ cup heavy cream

6 ounces baby braising greens, such as kale, mustard greens, chard or a mix (about 6 cups)

¾ cup mixed soft herbs, such as parsley, cilantro, dill, mint or chives

¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino

1 teaspoon kosher salt, more as needed

Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Black pepper, as needed

12 large eggs

1 pound day-old brioche or white bread, cut into 2-inch cubes (about 6 cups)

6 ounces cold goat cheese, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds

Aleppo or Turkish pepper, for serving (optional)

In a medium pot, bring milk and cream to a simmer.

Meanwhile, place greens, herbs, cheese, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Once the hot milk mixture comes to a simmer, pour over greens and purée until smooth. Pour into a bowl and let cool completely. Once cool, whisk in 6 eggs.

Lightly oil a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Scatter bread cubes over bottom of pan. Pour custard over bread and press down so the bread absorbs the custard. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. If you can, stir bread cubes after an hour or so to encourage an even distribution of custard.

When you are ready to bake the strata, heat oven to 350 degrees. Tuck the goat cheese rounds into and on top of the strata. Transfer pan to oven and bake until top is beginning to firm up but is still slightly wet underneath, about 25 minutes.

Remove pan from oven and use a spoon to make 6 evenly spaced indentations on the surface of the strata. Crack an egg into each hole and season with salt and pepper. Return pan to oven and continue to bake until strata is cooked through and eggs are just set, 20 to 25 minutes more. Sprinkle with Aleppo or Turkish pepper if desired.

slow cooked chickpeas on toast with poached egg.

"If you want to make it dinner put an egg on it.  If you want to make a dinner put an egg on it.  Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh."

-Lyrics written by me but sung to the tune of Beyonce "Single Ladies".  

I've mentioned it before and I'll mention it again, throwing an egg on just about anything makes it a meal. It's my cooking motto, my life motto, my "I don't know what to eat but we are hungry so an egg it is" motto. The fact that I now have a song to go along with it just further reinforces the fact that this is a completely valid maxim.  

Most throw an egg on recipes come about out of necessity and the need to use up what we have languishing in the fridge.  On occasion I stumble across one that drives me to make it out of sheer desire for the end product. That is is why this particular recipe got made.  

Yotam Ottolenghi knows his way around vegetable and grains and beans so when he tells you to make to make a chickpea dish that takes 5 hours to cook, you may think that sounds absurd, but you do it because he always seems to know best.  And boy does the man does know best.  This recipe is brilliant. Chickpeas are bathed in an amp-ed up tomato sauce that leaves them as tender as can be.  They are piled high on sour dough toast and topped with that requisite egg and a sprinkling of za'atar.  It's warm and comforting and impossibly addicting especially with a the mix of runny yolk and tomato sauce.  Eggs and winter just belong together.  

Slow Cooked Chickpeas on Toast with Poached Egg 

Recipe from Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi  

I wont lie that a little bit of goat chesse spread on the grilled sourdough is a mighty fine (and delicious) addition.  

Rounded 1 cup/220 g dried chickpeas, soaked in water overnight with 2 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. olive oil, plus 1 tbsp. to finish
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup/140 g)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons tomato paste
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
¼ tsp. smoked paprika
2 medium red peppers, cut into 1/4-inch/5-mm dice (about 1 1/4 cups/180 g) (Can also use canned roasted tomatoes) 

1 2/3 cups/300 grams crushed or diced canned tomatoes
½ tsp. superfine sugar
4 slices sourdough bread, brushed with olive oil and grilled on both sides
4 eggs, freshly poached (or over easy)
2 tsp. za'atar
Salt and black pepper

Drain and rinse the chickpeas and place them in a large saucepan with plenty of water. Place over high heat, bring to a boil, skim the surface, and boil for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Place the oil, onion, garlic, tomato paste, cayenne, paprika, red peppers, 1 teaspoon salt, and some black pepper in a food processor and blitz to form a paste.

Wipe out the chickpea saucepan, return it to the stove over medium heat, and add the paste. Fry for 5 minutes (there’s enough oil there to allow for this), stirring occasionally, before adding the tomato, sugar, chickpeas, and a scant 1 cup/200 ml water. Bring to a low simmer, cover the pan, and cook over very low heat for 4 hours, stirring from time to time and adding more water when needed to retain a sauce-like consistency. Remove the lid and cook for a final hour: The sauce needs to thicken without the chickpeas becoming dry.

Place a piece of warm grilled bread on each plate and spoon the chickpeas over the bread. Lay a poached egg on top, followed by a sprinkle of za’atar and a drizzle of oil. Serve at once.

deviled eggs.

There are certain foods that I make, usually for special occasions that people are always in awe of.  I don’t know if it’s because they think they are labor intensive so they are surprised I took the time (like empanadas) or if it’s because no one ever makes them homemade (like bread).  The look of excitement they exhibit when seeing them always makes me laugh (Apparently others get as happy about food as I do!). 

The easiest thing I always end up making that usually elicits many shrieks of glee is deviled eggs.  Deviled eggs are a crowd pleaser.  Probably because they feel old fashioned and because they are the perfect hand held snack.  They are just so darn cute (at least in my own personal opinion).  Also, everybody loves eggs which makes them a guaranteed hit. 

I make my deviled eggs rather simply more so because they are delicious in their original form.  I do have one additional add in and that is smoked Spanish paprika (I use the hot but it comes in sweet as well).  If you have never used smoked paprika, I recommend running to the store now and buying some.  It is one of my most beloved ingredients (up there with chipotles and parmesan) because it brings a level of depth to food that it would otherwise lack.  The heat is gentle and it works perfectly with deviled eggs, giving them a little edge and making the old stand by taste new.   The updated version will have everyone excited.

Deviled Eggs

A dozen hardboiled eggs

½ cup mayo (you may require less so I always start with less and add it in gradually)

1 to 1 ½ teaspoons dried mustard

½ teaspoon hot smoked Spanish paprika (you can replace this with cayenne)

½ teaspoon paprika

Salt and pepper to taste

Peel eggs and cut in half lengthwise.  Scoop out the yolks and place them in a bowl and place whites on a platter. Combine the yolks with mayo (start off with less), dried mustard (also the lesser amt), both paprika’s, a pinch of salt and pepper.  Mix together, the mixture should be smooth and not too chunky, if it is add more mayo.  Taste, and add more seasonings as desired.  Use a small spoon to add the filling to the whites.  Sprinkle with more paprika.  (If you a sucker for presentation feel free to use a pastry bag to fill the whites!)

homemade mayonnaise and egg salad.

Certain foods, no matter how many times I try to make them, always elude me.  Sometimes they come out sticky and messy (like the Italian nut rolls I tried to make one winter where most of the dough ended up glued to the counter).  Sometimes it ends up stuck to the bottom of the pan (almost every time I make rice, I like to think the pans at fault but it’s probably me and the fact that I never make the heat low enough). Or, it separates like homemade mayo always seems to.

However, the mayo issue has been solved!  A few weeks ago, the wonderful people at the NYTimes ran an article in the dinning section about the secret to homemade mayo (apparently water solves many problems).  I was apprehensive I mean water? How could that be the answer to all of my issues?  I decided to trust them (and even make it old school style with a whisk!) and low and behold it came out perfect and I mean PERFECT.  It didn’t break, it thickened beautifully and it was a lovely, shinny, pale color. 

After conquering this mountain, I was at a loss of what to do with it, I was sure it wasn’t going to work and now that it did I was left with a  bowl of mayo and no plan – until I located the plethora of eggs in the fridge.  I made us a beautiful bowl of egg salad.  We consumed it sitting outside in the sun, which made me happy, especially since it had never worked before.

Homemade Mayonnaise

Recipe from the NYTimes

For all you mayo haters (and I know there are lots of you!) try the homemade version. It is so unbelievable different then anything you’ve ever had before.  Not to mention you can add anything to it – The NYTimes article has many suggestions.  I am already dreaming about using the chipotle version to create a Tex-Mex chicken salad…

1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon cold water

¾ cup neutral oil such as safflower or canola

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and 1 teaspoon cold water until frothy.  Whisking constantly, slowly dribble in the oil until mayonnaise is thick and oil is incorporated.  When the mayonnaise emulsifies and starts to thicken, you can add the oil in a thin stream instead of drop by drop. 

Yield 1 cup

For the egg salad – I used 4 eggs and mixed in salt, pepper, some dry mustard (about half a teaspoon) and some chives, served on toasted whole wheat. Delicious.