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
- Sauté the greens with the shallots (or red onions), salt, and a couple of turns of black pepper until the shallot is golden brown.
- 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.
- 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.
- Optionally, you can add some saffron, and serve the bread on the side.
Looks great! Very inviting! 🙂