Eggs in a hole, French edition
Egg fills cut-out center of sliced bread and is cooked in a skillet.
This recipe combines the fun of the endearingly kitschy and the elegance of an easy French classic: eggs in a hole and a lardon-frisee salad.
In the first, an egg fills the cutout center of sliced bread and is cooked in a skillet; in the latter, curly chicory greens are coated with a tangy vinaigrette, studded with chunks of bacon and topped with a poached egg.
Bacon appears in this rendition, too, but instead of fatty lardons, small cubes of lean Canadian bacon are browned in the skillet to start the dish. Then, the cutout slices of bread, which have been brushed with oil so that they toast up beautifully, go in the pan two at a time and an egg is cracked into the center of each. They are cooked until thewhites are set but the yolk is still runny and the bread is golden brown.
The frisee (orwhatever type of chicory you like) is tossed with a mustardy vinaigrette, and the warm egg in its crisped bread platform is place on top with a sprinkle of the smoky bacon bits. It’s a healthful brunch or breakfast-for-dinner dish that is both homey and sophisticated, and it bringsway more deliciousness to the table than its simple ingredients let on.
EGGSINAHOLEWITHFRISEE SALAD
Adapted fromfood nutritionist and cookbook author Ellie Krieger. 3tablespoonsplus 1 teaspoon
oliveoil
3 ½ ounces thick-cutCanadian bacon(3slices) orhamsteak, diced 2teaspoonssherryvinegar 1 teaspoonDijonmustard 1 teaspoonmincedshallotor
scallion
⅛ teaspoonsalt ⅛ teaspoonfreshly ground
blackpepper
Four ½-inch-thickslices crusty wholegrainbread(taken fromthemiddleoftheloaf if theloaf is round) 4largeeggs 3cupslightlypacked, coarsely choppedor torn frisee or chicory
Brush a nonstick skilletwith 1 teaspoon of the oil and heat it overmedium-high heat. Addthe Canadian bacon orhamand cook for2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is nicely browned. Transfer it to aplate.
Whisk together2 tablespoons of the oil with the sherry vinegar, mustard, shallot, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
Use the remaining tablespoon of oil to brush both sides ofeach
continued fromD1 slice ofbread. Use a 3-inch cookie cutteror small glass to cut a hole in the centerof each slice ofbread; reserve the cutouts, ifdesired.
Heat the sameskillet overmedium heat. Place
2 of the breadslices and 2 cutouts in the sameskillet and crackone egg into the hole ofeach slice. Cookfor 3 to4minutes, until the egg whites aremostly set and the breadis toasted on the underside. Use a spatula to turn over the bread/egg slices and cutouts, if using, cook for 1 minutemore, so the white is cooked but the yolk is still runny. Repeat with the remaining breadslices, eggs and cutouts, ifusing, to create the remaining two eggs in a hole.
Toss the frisee orchicory with the dressing in amixing bowl until evenly coated, then divide the saladamong individualplates.
To serve, place one egg in a hole and one reserved cutout, if using, on top of the salad on each plate. Sprinkle with the brownedbacon or ham. Makes4servings.
Per serving: 280 calories, 14 g protein, 15 g carbohydrates, 17 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 200 mg cholesterol, 580 mg sodium, 2 g dietary fiber, 2 g sugar