Escarole and white beans
Beans and greens get an upgrade with loads of garlic, caramelized onions, lemon, zest, and a glob of butter melted in at the end. They’re luxurious and comforting and can be eaten for any meal.
So, my get-the-kid-into-the-kitchen mission backfired this week. We had some yogurt to use up and a friend who is a million weeks pregnant, so I decided to make her Smitten's lemon yogurt cake. M helped with the measuring and mixing and stirring and we had a lovely time until lunch rolled around and he only wanted to eat cake. Cue the NUCLEAR MELTDOWN. So many tears. Teaching him patience is trying my patience.
But! In my never ending quest to get M to eat green things, I decided to take a stroll down Escarole Lane. And it was successful! (Before the cake crying episode, though. If I had offered this instead of cake, his head might have exploded.)
I think the LOAD of garlic, onions, and lemon (and a dash of crushed red pepper if your kiddo can tolerate a little spice), made a big difference. I usually see greens and beans with either pasta or in a soup (either of which you could easily do with this recipe) but I went for a more straight forward presentation and was surprised at the results. Fry an egg on top and call it lunch or eat it as a side dish with your protein of choice for dinner.
White beans and escarole
Time: About 40 minutes
Yield: 2 1/2 cups or 2-4 side servings
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion
2 large pinches of salt, divided
3-4 LARGE cloves garlic (if your cloves are small or medium, use 6-8)
2 heads escarole, washed and chopped
1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 can white beans, rinsed and drained
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Pinch of crushed red pepper, optional
1/2 Tbsp butter
Several cracks of fresh black pepper, to taste
Zest of 1/4 of a lemon
Parmesan cheese, optional
Heat the oil over a medium flame. Add the onions and cook until deeply browned, about 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat if the onions seem to be burning rather than browning. Stir in one large pinch of salt.
Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Add the escarole and stock and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes.
Add the white beans, lemon juice, crushed red pepper (if using), and butter and continue cooking until all the liquid has evaporated and the beans are heated through.
Stir in the second large pinch of salt and several cracks of black pepper and taste for seasoning. Adjust according to your preference.
Top with lemon zest and parmesan cheese.
Smoked salmon, goat cheese, and chive eggs
Eggs, salmon, chives, milk, and goat cheese are all you need for an easy and healthy dinner, lunch, breakfast or brunch. #meandthemoose ##eggrecipes #eggs #salmon #easybrunch #quickdinnerrecipes
Five ingredients and fifteen minutes are all you need for this easy and flavorful dinner, a fancy breakfast, or a fun brunch.
Eggs, salmon, chives, milk, and goat cheese are all you need for an easy and healthy dinner, lunch, breakfast or brunch. #meandthemoose ##eggrecipes #eggs #salmon #easybrunch #quickdinnerrecipes
So, this dish started its life as an omelette, but if you’re anything like me, no matter how hot you get your pan and how much oil you use, certain days omelette’s just hang on tight. And since we’ve pretty much sworn off nonstick pans, scrambled eggs are our destiny.
Anyway, I first made these eggs for Father's Day 2015 and they’ve been in the rotation ever since. They’re delicious and SO FAST. If you want dinner on the table in under 20 minutes, make these. If you want a “special” breakfast that doesn’t take ages, make this. You get it!
Eggs, salmon, chives, milk, and goat cheese are all you need for an easy and healthy dinner, lunch, breakfast or brunch. #meandthemoose ##eggrecipes #eggs #salmon #easybrunch #quickdinnerrecipes
Eggs, salmon, chives, milk, and goat cheese are all you need for an easy and healthy dinner, lunch, breakfast or brunch. #meandthemoose ##eggrecipes #eggs #salmon #easybrunch #quickdinnerrecipes
These eggs are so basic, but the salmon and chives and cheese make them creamy and salty and herby.
A couple of notes:
I don’t salt the eggs because the salmon is so salty that I don’t often need more.
Don’t overcook these babies. These eggs are best when they’ve just barely stopped jiggling.
I DO cook the salmon a little bit because, strangely, I don’t love the texture of smoked salmon. I love raw salmon and cooked salmon, but that in-between phase isn’t my favorite. Just a little bit of heat makes the texture of the thinly sliced fish a little closer to cooked salmon, so it’s more to my taste. If you like smoked salmon, leave it out during the cooking and then add it on top of the cooked eggs to maintain the original texture.
Eggs, salmon, chives, milk, and goat cheese are all you need for an easy and healthy dinner, lunch, breakfast or brunch. #meandthemoose ##eggrecipes #eggs #salmon #easybrunch #quickdinnerrecipes
Smoked salmon, goat cheese, and chive eggs
Time: 15 minutes, all active
Yield: Enough for two adults as a main course, 4 people as a side dish
1 Tbsp olive oil, butter, or fat of choice
6 eggs
3-4 Tbsp milk (whole or 2% both work)
2-3 oz goat cheese
2 Tbsp chopped chives
5 oz wild smoked salmon (or, one small package), torn into smaller pieces or roughly chopped.
Heat the butter or oil over a medium flame.
Crack the eggs into a medium bowl and vigorously whisk with a fork until the whites and yolks are well combined.
Add the milk, goat cheese, and chives and whisk again until the ingredients are reasonably incorporated (the goat cheese will still be in clumps).
When the pan is hot, pour in the egg mixture and add the salmon. Lower the flame to medium low or low.
Move the eggs around with a rubber spatula scraping the cooked layer from the bottom and letting the raw eggs run into the open spots. Repeat until the eggs are soft, but cooked, about 3-4 minutes.
Brussels sprout fritters
Fritters are a tricky business, in my experience. They aren't burgers, so the ingredients won't form a patty necessarily. You also don't want to use so much flour or binder that you end up with a hush puppy or a funnel cake-like batter with just a hint of veggies. But, if they fall apart, you go from fritter to hash, which is a different animal. The trick seems to be using just enough egg, flour, or cheese (or, as in this case, all three) to get the veggies to stick together without masking the produce that should stand out.
Brussels sprouts are my favorite and in season now, so I want M to love them as much as I do. He'll eat them roasted when they're right out of the oven (who wouldn't eat something crispy and salty fresh out of the oven?), but he won't eat them as leftovers. I tried fritterizing them instead and have had more luck. I also added some bacon because, bacon.
A couple of notes: These guys are still a smidge delicate. Two keys for my fritter success have been making sure that the oil is hot before starting the cooking and letting the first side get a good seer before flipping. I also have to manage my expectations that they'll stick together entirely. And lastly, the smaller the fritter, the more likely you'll flip without breaking. BUT, if this all seems like too much, just throw half or all of the mixture (depending on the size of your pan) into an oven-safe pan and make one or two giant fritters, cooking them like a frittata.
Brussels sprout fritters
12 oz brussels sprouts, shredded
8 oz purple cabbage, shredded
5 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
4 eggs, lightly whisked
½ cup + 2 Tbsp garbanzo flour*
½ cup + 2 Tbsp parmesan cheese
2 large cloves garlic, minced
S/P
4 Tbsp olive oil, divided (more, if needed)
*I used garbanzo flour because I had it and it has more protein, iron, and fiber than white flour and is gluten-free. But swap in whatever flour you have on hand.
Heat a large pan over a medium flame and add the bacon when hot. In the meantime, shred the brussels sprouts and cabbage with your food processor or by hand, pausing a few times to check the bacon and flip it over. (Or, if you’re smarter than me, and you bought your veggies pre-shredded, dump them in a large bowl and gather your other ingredients.) When the bacon is crisped, let it cool on a paper towel for a few minutes and crumble it into the veggies. Pour off the bacon grease and wipe down the pan.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, parmesan cheese, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Dump them onto the veggies and stir to combine. In that same small bowl that’s now empty, add the eggs and lightly whisk with a fork to break up the yolks. Add to the veggie, flour, and cheese mixture, and stir again to combine, making sure that everything is well distributed.
Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil over a medium flame until very hot. Test with a bit of the veggie mixture to see if it starts bubbling immediately. If yes, your pan is ready. Using a large spoon or your hands, add mounds of about 1/3 cup of the veggies into the oil (our large pan accommodated 4 fritters at a time). Fry for 5-6 minutes until there’s a good seer on one side. Carefully flip (I use a silicone spatula and a fork) and repeat on the other side. Remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel.
Yield: 16-18 fritters
