Eggs in a Nest

I’ve always thought of Eggs in a Nest as the dish where you cut a hole in a piece of bread and fry an egg in the center of it, but I recently found this version, which is a family dish of delicious leafy greens, with poached eggs nested in them. I found it in Barbara Kingsolver’s book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, which chronicles her family’s year of growing and eating local food. It’s a fabulous, poignant, funny, and informative book, and if you haven’t read it, you should grab a copy. It includes recipes appropriate to every season’s harvest, and this one is for the spring when roots and seeds and beans are not yet mature, but leafy greens are popping up all over.

As usual, I modified the recipe in a few ways, you can find the original here (alas, Kingsolver and her family didn’t seem to get a picture either in the dim winter light). I halved the recipe since it was just for my husband and myself, and I didn’t fancy poached eggs going into the refrigerator for leftovers. I also used what I had on hand, such as dinosaur kale, and, I hate to admit, a little ketchup in lieu of dried tomatoes. The result, however, was outstanding; healthy, flavorful, low-fat, and very filling. I highly recommend trying your OWN version of this recipe.

Eggs in a Nest

2 T. olive oil
1 medium onion
2-3 cloves of garlic, smashed with the flat of a large knife
2 carrotts, sliced into rounds
1 bunch kale or other dark cooking green, washed and chopped
1/4 C. or so of water
salt and pepper to taste
4 eggs

Saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil in a large skillet or pot until translucent. Add carrots, and continue to saute for a few more minutes. Add kale, and enough water to have a little bit of liquid pooling on the bottom of the pan. Cover. When the greens are soft, make 4 depressions in the vegetable mixture for the eggs. If there is not enough liquid to poach the eggs, add a little more water. Drop eggs in each depression, being careful not to crack the yolks. Cover until eggs are done to your liking, 3-5 minutes.