One weekend last month, we had a lazy Sunday at home, reading books, watching movies, and relaxing. The only time I left the house was to take a pleasant walk to Starbucks in the suddenly mild, sunny weather with the BF. It was glorious. It also reminds me of how much I miss nice weather, now that we’re setting record low temps here in North Carolina: 7° yesterday!
Since I was ignoring the dirty bathrooms and the Christmas tree still standing in the corner (un-decorated, at least – I did manage to get the lights and ornaments put away only a couple weeks after Christmas), I thought I could at least cook a decent meal for us. I was enjoying my book and tea too much to get off the couch at breakfast time, so I made this for lunch.
My friend Emily made this for brunch a few weeks ago, and I’ve been wanting to re-create it since then. Mine wasn’t as good as hers, but it was still pretty tasty. I’m sure I’ll make it again and see what I can do to improve it – I’m thinking of adding cheese into the mix, maybe something deliciously creamy like gruyere.
It’s pretty simple: cook up the greens, onions, and mushrooms. Pour that into a baking dish. Then crack the eggs right on top.
Looks kinda gross, doesn’t it? But it turns out pretty delicious in the end.
With a side of toast and bacon, this became a substantial and delicious lunch. I think it would be great for any meal of the day, actually, but I’m weird like that. I used half kale and half spinach, which I really liked, though the original recipe called for just spinach. Use what you like!
Baked Eggs with Mushrooms & Greens, adapted from Smitten Kitchen
3 oz (about 2 handfuls) kale, de-stemmed and roughly chopped
3 oz (about 1 handful) spinach
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 T unsalted butter
5 oz (about 1 cups) mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup half and half
salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste
4 large eggs
1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella
Preheat the oven to 450 F.
Bring 1/2″ of water to a boil in a large skillet. Add the kale and cook, covered, until it begins to wilt, about 2 minutes. Add the spinach and cook over medium-high heat, covered, until all the greens are wilted, about 1-2 minutes. If there’s any water left in the pan, drain in a colander, then transfer to an 8×8 baking dish.
Wipe the skillet dry, then add the butter and melt over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until mushrooms are soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in half and half; a dash each of salt, pepper, and nutmeg; and bring to a simmer. Add the mushroom mixture to the baking pan and stir well to incorporate greens.
Make 4 indentations in the greens-and-mushroom mixture. Break an egg into each indentation and bake, uncovered, until eggs are set as desired. (7-10 minutes will have set egg whites with runny yolks; I cooked it 12-15 minutes so the yolks were also set.)
Lightly season with salt and pepper; sprinkle with shredded cheese.
Wine & Plum 