I never thought I'd start a blog. It felt too indulgent, too self-promotional, too, well, not me. But here I am, putting my most personal thoughts (or at least my personal thoughts as they pertain to food) on the internet for everyone to see.
But simply wanting to write about food was not my reason for starting this blog. No, this blog came about because I am struggling with a task that has recently fallen upon me, that task being cooking for one.
You see reader, dinners at my house follow a familiar pattern. When I have people to feed (or alternatively try and impress), I serve tender pork mole, shredded and stuffed into barely blistered tortillas. Or, I spin silky slow-cooked leeks into a pot of homemade noodles or wrap a snowy white fish fillet in prosciutto and perch it atop a bed of mescalin greens, looking every bit like an edible present waiting to be unwrapped.
But when it’s just me, I’m embarrassed to admit I make "everything but the kitchen sink" salads or scramble egg whites with spinach and cheese and call it supper. Or I crank open a can of crushed tomatoes and dump it into a pot to make my fallback dish: no-frills tomato soup. I haven't sunken so low to eat cereal for dinner but I'm certainly no Barefoot Contessa when I'm cooking for one. And unfortunately, I cook for one a lot because my husband’s a firefighter who lives at his station every third day.
So you can imagine that I was eating a lot of dull meals, and that I needed a bit of motivation to improve my solo suppers, which in turn prompted quite a few people to suggest I start a blog. So here we are at the beginning - the start of my mission to start cooking well, for one. Fortunately, I begin with a bit of help care of a soon-to-be-released cookbook, aptly titled The Pleasures of Cooking for One. The author (you may know her? Judith Jones?) makes a valid argument that cooking for one is about, you guessed it, you. It's about cooking what you want to eat, feeding your of-the-moment cravings and servicing your taste buds and culinary desires without heeding the wants or needs of anyone else. Refreshing, no?
My craving, it seemed, was for Steamed Eggs Nestled in a Bed of Greens; this was the recipe that got me off the couch and into the kitchen. The dish sounded impossibly simple and completely rustic, and the accompanying photo called out to my love of all things green and my preference for eggs served with slightly runny yolks.
To make it, you tear up a bunch of young, hearty greens - for me, rainbow chard - and toss them in a hot skillet with a bit of olive oil and slivers of garlic to wilt and droop just a bit. Then, you add a bit of liquid, cook the greens till they're tender and make a little indentation in the middle of the "nest" to add the piece de resistance: the egg. Once the whole thing has steamed for a few minutes, you scoop the mound of greens and egg into a bowl using a slotted spoon. Dinner is served.
So reader, here is my gift to you. A rustic recipe meant for one and a promise of more meals made for one to come.
Steamed Eggs in a Nest of Greens
Adapted from The Pleasures of Cooking for One
Judith Jones calls for water to use to steam the greens and eggs in this recipe. I prefer the backbone of flavor that a rich broth brings to the dish, so I cut the water with a bit of low sodium vegetable broth. I recommend serving this with a thick slice of rustic bread - it is an extremely practical tool for sopping up all the goodness in your bowl.
What you need
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and slivered
2 handfuls of tender greens, such as Swiss chard or spinach
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup low sodium vegetable broth
1 or 2 large eggs
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Parmesan cheese (optional)
Heat a wok or a large saute pan (the kind with a tight-fitting lid), pour in the oil and drop in the slivers of garlic once it is hot. Cook, stirring over high heat, and just before the garlic starts to brown, toss in all the greens. Stir-fry for 1 minute, then add the water and vegetable broth. Cook the greens until they are almost tender.
Using a wooden spoon, make an indentation in the center of the greens (or two indentations if you are using two eggs), and crack the eggs into it. Check to be sure there is enough water left to steam them; if there isn't, add a little more.
Sprinkle on the salt and pepper, cover, and steam over medium heat. The eggs will be ready in about 3 minutes, at which point the liquid should be almost boiled away. Turn off the heat, and remove the greens and eggs carefully to a plate, using a large slotted spatula so the remaining liquid stays in the pan. Center eggs in the middle of the plate with the greens "nested" around them. Shower with Parmesan cheese, or not, and serve immediately.
