After about a six-month hiatus, Julia’s into eggs again, so I went looking for some new ways to prepare them for us. I’m new to this way of cooking eggs, and, frankly, I’m a little irked that I haven’t been eating this dish for the last 45 years. It’s astoundingly delicious. The creamy, soft-centered eggs are encased in a crunchy coating of breadcrumbs flavored with olive oil. It’s like eating both eggs and the world’s best toast in every bite.
This recipe dresses the eggs with a few drops of heated red wine vinegar just before serving. This may seem odd to you, but try it. The light acidity of the small amount of vinegar is the perfect foil to the richness of the eggs and olive oil. For the same reason, a little salad of bitter greens makes a nice side dish, particularly if, like Julia and me, you love to eat eggs for lunch or dinner. First thing in the morning, they’re just fine on their own, or you can add some sausage or bacon for a heartier meal.
I think we’ll be going through a lot more eggs from now on.
Recipe
(Adapted from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook by Judy Rodgers, for one)
Ingredients
2 eggs
2-3 tablespoons packed, fresh, soft breadcrumbs made from chewy, white, crustless and preferable slightly stale bread.
about 2 tablespoons olive oil
a pinch of fresh thyme, marjoram or coarsely chopped marjoram leaves, or dried thyme
about 1 teaspoon sherry, red wine or balsamic vinegar
kosher or sea salt
Instructions
1. Make the breadcrumbs. (You can do this well in advance, and in quantity in the oven. I almost always have a bag of oiled, toasted breadcrumbs in the freezer. In fact I have a whole post dedicated to their glories here.)
If your bread is very fresh, it helps to slice and toast it before you start, just until it dries out but doesn’t color. Cut off the crusts, put the slices in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and process until you’ve got coarse, spongy crumbs.
2. Dump the crumbs into a bowl, add a pinch or two of salt and mix in just enough of the olive oil to completely saturate them.
3. Place the breadcrumbs in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. (If you like your eggs over easy –as I do– reserve a bit of the oiled crumbs to sprinkle on the eggs just before you flip them over.) Cook the crumbs until they dry out and become crisp, but do not let them color. The moment you see them darkening, add the remaining oil and the herbs (if using) and crack the eggs directly onto the crumbs. Push the free breadcrumbs around the eggs with a spatula. You can fry the eggs any way you like, but I think over easy is best here because the eggs will be completely enclosed in their delicious coating.
4. If you’re cooking your eggs over easy, sprinkle their tops with the reserved breadcrumbs and then gently turn them over with a spatula, revealing their lovely crunchy golden-brown coating.
5. Slide the eggs onto a warm plate, and then add the vinegar to the hot pan. Swirl the pan just once, then pour the drops of sizzling vinegar (and any stray crumbs it picks up) over the eggs.
Serve immediately with your favorite breakfast meat, or with lightly dressed bitter greens for a delicious brunch, lunch or light dinner.
Buy more eggs.
