Fried From Eggs
I was on the bus home from a miserable Monday and in between pages of “The Perfect Meal” chapter of Omnivore’s Dilemma, I thought about my dinner. 80P would be at class, so I was on my own — to put a fried egg on anything I’d want. And then as I was cooking up my meal, and styling it, and playing the part of the photog, I thought about ES readers. And just how you all might be sick of seeing me cook something and then put a sunny side up egg over top. But, I’ll let you decide…
Decide post jump
But before you judge my fried egg fate, let me tell you about what I made.
Mashers, Kale and Yolk
With leftover mashed potatoes (by my brother for Rosh Hashanah dinner, simply milk, butter, salt and pepper) I warmed them up in the broiler and then kept them warm in a 250 degree oven. While that was heating up, I sauteed onion and garlic and then kale, with oil, salt and pepper and a few dashes of soy*. When the greens just started to become tender, I dropped in a few teaspoons of water to finish the job. After that steamed out, I took the mashers out of the oven and swung them around in a circle on my plate. I dumped the greens in the circle and then quickly fried an egg in the same pan (adding a smidge of butter.) I of course, topped the greens and mashers with the fried egg. Sprinkled with salt and pepper and drizzled with Sriracha* sauce.
Okay, so this dish is pretty unique (fried egg on mashers?!?!) But I do understand if you’re sick of reading about my fried egg obsession. So, do tell.
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Tag clarification
Does using soy and Sriracha make something Asian? Probably not. But I’ll tag anyway.
The kale looks delicious. I have some in my vegetable ice box that I’m gonna cook up for the debate tonight (is Kale an elitist vegetable like arugula?). Ganz: I love you very much, and you can put an egg on anything you wanna put an egg on (hear the tune of “free to be you and me” chiming in the background?). Lord knows you know how to dress up a fried egg for its close-up. But when you show your grandkids this blog some thirty years down the line, they might wonder what on earth their g-ma was thinking when she went all eggtastic back in the early 2000s. Think of your future rugrats’ rugrats, I implore you. A fried egg does not a condiment make!
There’s a fried egg, mashed potatoes and other assorted goodness. I don’t see what the problem is.
Kale is definitely NOT an elitist vegetable. It is a traditional green like collards, mustard greens and cabbage that is most often prepared as a side dish and not as a salad.
And it’s relatively inexpensive – I found it at the USDA farmers’ market for $1.25 a pound last week. Compare that to the arugula at Trader Joe’s that goes for $2.99 per 8 ounce bag.
I think it depends on how you prepare it – cooked in lard, pork fat or the like, kale is certainly not elitist. But if you’re thinking of it as a bed to serve smoked salmon or fine cheeses on, well then you’re out of luck.
I think anything that is unknown is elitist to some people.
Truth be told, I had the same impression of Kale and mustard greens, etc until recently. I never had more than romaine, spinach or iceberg growing up (at least that my joe six-pack mind can remember). First time I saw them, it was in nicer stores like HT or Whole Foods. Probably why I had that impression.
So, I was at dinner with friends last month and the menu had tons of pizza’s on it with the option of egg on top. When I contemplated adding the egg out loud, my thought was met with tons of “gags” and grimaces. I rarely see the ‘add egg’ option, so I’m wondering if this is an East Coast delicacy more than a West….
i actually had an A-MAZING *breakfast* pie at 2 Amy’s that had potato, parm cheese (and another cheese that i can’t remember) drizzled with truffle oil and topped with a fried egg. YES!
and, MC, did you end up ordering the egg?
Ulah Bistro on U Street also does a breakfast pizza that features three eggs, prosciutto and a basil tomato sauce.
But I don’t think that’s quite the same thing as the Bottarga at Pizzeria Paradiso, which is an entree pie with an egg cracked into the center of it and fish roe.
It sounds like what MC experienced is a traditional Italian preparation, known as Pizza alla Bismarck. No set recipe, but they all include cracking an egg over the top of the pie to let it cook while the pizza does.
Sounds like Pizza alla Gansie to me…
No, I was scared. Next time, NEXT time!
looks neat sure it tasted great;let’s try something when you get home again can’t egg wait
How can you not love fried eggs?!