Holidays are over and the feasting has turned to fasting. With a fridge full of leftovers, which I love, the prep work is done for fast and easy meals. An added benefit of using your leftovers – no one has to let the car warm up for 20 minutes just to grocery shop (it is freeze your face off cold here).
I came up with this recipe a few summer’s ago because frankly I was lazy. I like cooked greens and I like poached eggs. I am no good at poached eggs in a pot. Somehow the whites end up all over the pot leaving it a hard mess. This is easy to make and easy to clean. You’re going to steam your egg in your skillet hash.
If you’re in a climate warmer than ours, you can use whatever is ready to harvest, including herbs, otherwise use your leftovers.
My leftovers in this photo are nitrate free ham (delicious), sweet potatoes roasted in olive oil and cumin, onions, a handful of left over greens and yellow peppers from our dinner salad, a mushroom, and onions. The amounts of each are up to you. This is a “bespoke” skillet. No two have to be alike.
Step 1: Cook your onions first, sweating them in the hot skillet until they’re translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Then add whatever raw veggies you’re using, saving the already cooked bits, like the sweet potatoes, for last. Turn the heat down once you’ve added the cooked bits. I cooked my veggies in a little bit of olive oil. You can use any fat you like, including butter, but keep in mind butter will burn quicker than oil, so keep the heat low.
Step 2: While your veggies are cooking, crack an egg into a separate bowl. Press the back of a spoon gently into the nearly cooked veggies making a well for your egg, and then slide it into the nest. Add a 2-3TBS of water, vegetable broth, or chicken broth, whichever suits you. Quickly put the lid on the skillet and let the egg cook in the steam you’ve created. The egg will “poach” right in the bed of veggies, with the white part of the egg binding to the delicious pile you’ve sauteed. They will become one. If you are someone who likes their food groups separate, this is not the recipe for you.
If you need to add more water, just add one Tablespoon at a time so your veggies don’t get soggy. You want to find the balance between burnt and soggy.
Step 3: For a runny yolk, let the egg cook just until the whites are opaque. For a more firm yolk, let the egg cook until the whites are bright and firm.
Step 4: Slide it out of your pan and on to your plate, add a little salt and pepper and you’re done baby! Yep – it’s that easy
A couple notes – 1) You can make more than one at a time by creating more than one nest, just like you would if you were making more than one pancake at a time; and 2) Probably goes without saying, but this is great with toast.
So there you have it. A relatively cheap, easy, homemade, and healthy meal. I’d say it goes well with any leftover Champagne you might have from New Year’s – but Seriously -who has left over Champagne?
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