I’ve recently purchased the Chopped Cookbook and was ecstatic to try out a recipe from it right away.  Naturally, like the many contestants that have delve into their ‘mystery basket‘, I perused through the refrigerator for ingredients.

Alongside my go-to ingredients of fresh garlic, red onion, olive oil, kosher salt, fresh ground black peppers…I also had a vibrant bunch of Swiss chards, and for as long as our backyard hens are willing, an ample supply of hand-gathered eggs, some yogurt, and limes.  So today’s inspiration comes from a recipe from page 69– a chapter consisting of EGGS AFTER BREAKFAST, “elevating eggs from their humble breakfast station to their rightful place as kings of any meal…”

Serves 4-6; Active time: 20 minutes; Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• Unsalted butter, for the dish
• 2 large bunches of Swiss chard (I only used 1 bunch)
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil ( I used Winter Hill’s Shakespeare’s Acre award-winning, certified olive oil)
• 1 large shallot, sliced (I used red onions)
• Kosher salt and finely ground black pepper
• 6 large eggs
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt (organic, low-calorie preferred)
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice (about 1/2 a lime)
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  Crusty bread, for serving (optional)

Additional ingredients I added:

• slices of cooked bacon
• saffron, for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Butter a 3-quart baking dish, or (as pictured) a large muffin tin

1. Sauté the greens with the shallots (or red onions), salt, and a couple of turns of black pepper until the shallot is golden brown.
2. Transfer the chards to the prepared baking dish (or divide the leaves evenly into the six muffin tin container) and make 6 shallow wells in the leaves.  Crack an egg into each and sprinkle the eggs with salt and black pepper.  Bake, rotating the dish/muffin tin as needed for even cooking, approximately 10-15 minutes.  You want the egg whites to set but the yolks that are still runny.
3. Stir together the yogurt and lime juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Top the eggs with dollops of the yogurt and sprinkle with the red pepper flakes.

   

4. Optionally, you can add some saffron, and serve the bread on the side.