Meatless Monday: Can You Put an Egg on It?
Eggs-on-things seems to be a trend of late: eggs on burgers, eggs on salads, restaurants that will put an egg on anything for a $1. Is there a limit to what you can top with an egg? I don't think so; my favorite way to make a meal complete is to add an egg to it. It works for stretching leftovers: if you have just a little bit of fried rice or pasta leftover, add an egg or two to it to make it a meal. And it works for turning something not-so-filling, like a big plate of garlicky broccoli, into a satisfying supper. Just add a couple of fried, poached or scrambled eggs, and maybe some crusty bread, and you have yourself a meal.
This one's easy; you know the answer is yes. But you can get a little more creative than plain old American cheese and a fried egg on an English muffin. Fancy up a plain old egg sandwich with caramelized onions and fig jam or make brunch Bobby Flay-style by adding a poached egg to toasted baguette topped with goat cheese, heirloom tomatoes and baby greens.
Yes, you can, and you should. Think of it as a giant, open-faced egg sandwich. I like eggs on sauce-less pizzas with strongly-flavored cheeses like Gruyere or blue, if you like eggs and you like pizza, an egg on the pizza of your choice would be delightful. but Fry an egg or two and slide it onto finished pizza, or bake your pizza till it's almost done, and crack a couple of eggs on top and bake for 3-5 minutes until the eggs are cooked.
Totally. And I'm not just talking about egg drop soup; make any kind of soup more awesome and more filling by floating an egg on top. You can fry the eggs and stick them on top, but I like to bring the soup to a gentle boil and drop an egg in so it poaches in the broth. If you don't want a whole pot of soup to be eggy, scoop out a smaller portion to poach the eggs in. Almost any soup can benefit from an egg -- though I prefer broth-based over cream-based soups -- but my favorite soups to add an egg to are lentil, black bean, minestrone or any pureed vegetable soup.
You can -- they're called Shakshuka eggs. Shakshuka eggs are a traditional Tunisian dish that's also popular in Israel, Morocco and Libya, made from eggs poached in spiced tomato sauce, served with bread or pita used for mopping up the sauce. The Neapolitan version of the same dish is called eggs in purgatory. Make a tomato sauce just for your eggs or crack a couple of eggs into leftover tomato sauce, and don't forget the bread.
