A REAL CRACKER
In true Yotam Ottolenghi style, the star chef teams good-foryou greens with rich, yolky eggs for a dish that’s a riot of colour and flavour, and one you’ll have on speed dial all summer.
BRAISED EGGS WITH ZUCCHINI, FETA & LEMON SERVES 3
2 lemons
70ml extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red chilli (such as serrano), roughly chopped (seeds removed if you don’t like heat)
600g (approx 2 large) zucchini, thinly
sliced on a mandoline
2 leaves rainbow chard (about 80g), thinly
sliced
2 tbs roughly chopped chives
2 tbs dill
40g roughly crumbled feta
6 eggs
6 zucchini blossoms (stems removed),
halved lengthwise
15g unsalted butter
1/4 tsp Aleppo pepper (or 1/8 tsp chilli
flakes)
Take one lemon and use a vegetable peeler to remove 4 strips of zest. Squeeze the lemon to get 1 tbs juice, then set aside.
Add the oil, garlic, chopped chilli, lemon zest strips and 3/4 tsp salt flakes to a large, non-stick pan with a lid set over medium heat. Gently fry for 3-5 minutes, stirring often, until the oil begins to bubble. (Turn the heat down to medium-low if the oil bubbles too quickly.) Decrease the heat to low, add the zucchini slices and continue to cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring often, until the zucchini slices are very tender and beginning to brown. Stir in the chard and cook for another few minutes, until wilted.
Drain the zucchini and chard over a saucepan to collect the oil, then return the vegetables to the sauté pan. Stir in the herbs, reserved lemon juice and feta. Create 6 hollows with the back of a spoon and carefully break an egg into each hollow (take care not to break the yolks). Lay the zucchini blossoms around the eggs and drizzle them with a teaspoon of the reserved frying oil. Cover the pan with the lid and cook for 4-5 minutes over mediumhigh heat, until the whites are almost set and the yolks are still runny (the eggs will continue cooking once uncovered and remove from the heat).
While the eggs cook, add the butter to the reserved oil and gently heat until beginning to brown and bubble, then drizzle over the eggs when they’re done. Sprinkle with the Aleppo pepper and a good pinch of salt. Squeeze juice from the remaining lemon on top to serve.