Nidi Di Erbucce
Nov. 20th, 2005 03:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
saint_monkeyMade this in the morning today for breakfast, my twist on a Tuscan egg and green dish.
2 Eggs
1 Large bunch of spinach, de-stemmed and washed. (Any quick braising green will work, like chard, arugula, or a mix!)
A pinch of cardamom,
Freshly ground nutmeg.
Olive oil for your pan.
1 small clove of garlic, pressed
1 to 2 tablespoons of pine nuts, toasted in a skillet until lightly browned.
pinch of salt.
2 Cups of Beretta brand "Gran polenta express," Instant polenta (1/2 cup polenta, to 2 cups water makes about 2 cups of polenta.) (I know, instant polenta? but it works pretty well. Go ahead and make slow cooking if it is more to your liking, just adjust your times accordingly.)
1/2 cup grated cheese of your tastes, to go in the polenta, I used a mild cheddar. Parmesan works as well.
Turn on your oven's broiler, start the water in a pot on medium.
In your skillet, cook the spinach with olive oil, pine nuts, salt and the pressed garlic until wilted. When wilted, add the pinch of cardomom and the grated nutmeg. Remove from the pan, put the spinach in a strainer with a bowl beneath to catch the runoff. Allow to cool for a minute. (i suggest until the water comes to a boil, or until your polenta is about 7 minutes from being done if you made slow cooking polenta.)
When you can handle the spinach safely, make a small mound in an oiled, oven proof pan. (I use an iron skillet, I bet a greased muffin tin would be a nice twist.) The idea is to make a birds nest shaped mound with a depression in the middle. Crack your raw egg into the depression. If it runs out of the nest a tiny bit, that is ok, that is why we oiled the pan.
Place this under the broiler for about five to seven minutes, or until the tops of the greens begin to brown. If you like a cooked yolk, pierce the yolks about three to four minutes after they go under the broiler.
By now the water is boiling, add the reserved water and that you squeezed from your spinach, some salt, and your dry polenta. Cook until it begins to thicken, then add the cheese. Stir until polenta is thick and creamy.
Divide the polenta into two bowls, and top with a "Nest." Serve immediately.
This sounds tough, but the only hard portion is timing, the nests must come from the oven just as the polenta is finished. But once you get that straight, it is actually a pretty quick and easy breakfast that has a very nice presentation appeal.
The original version of this recipe calls for the spinach to be blanched, drained, braised in a pan for 5 minutes, removed from heat, excess liquid removed, and then made into nests. The egg white and yolks are separated, and the greens with whites in the nest, are slowly cooked in the oven at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) for ten minutes. In the last five minutes, the reserved yolks are poured over the nests. In my version the greens are more tender, and the egg ends up more like a poached egg.
2 Eggs
1 Large bunch of spinach, de-stemmed and washed. (Any quick braising green will work, like chard, arugula, or a mix!)
A pinch of cardamom,
Freshly ground nutmeg.
Olive oil for your pan.
1 small clove of garlic, pressed
1 to 2 tablespoons of pine nuts, toasted in a skillet until lightly browned.
pinch of salt.
2 Cups of Beretta brand "Gran polenta express," Instant polenta (1/2 cup polenta, to 2 cups water makes about 2 cups of polenta.) (I know, instant polenta? but it works pretty well. Go ahead and make slow cooking if it is more to your liking, just adjust your times accordingly.)
1/2 cup grated cheese of your tastes, to go in the polenta, I used a mild cheddar. Parmesan works as well.
Turn on your oven's broiler, start the water in a pot on medium.
In your skillet, cook the spinach with olive oil, pine nuts, salt and the pressed garlic until wilted. When wilted, add the pinch of cardomom and the grated nutmeg. Remove from the pan, put the spinach in a strainer with a bowl beneath to catch the runoff. Allow to cool for a minute. (i suggest until the water comes to a boil, or until your polenta is about 7 minutes from being done if you made slow cooking polenta.)
When you can handle the spinach safely, make a small mound in an oiled, oven proof pan. (I use an iron skillet, I bet a greased muffin tin would be a nice twist.) The idea is to make a birds nest shaped mound with a depression in the middle. Crack your raw egg into the depression. If it runs out of the nest a tiny bit, that is ok, that is why we oiled the pan.
Place this under the broiler for about five to seven minutes, or until the tops of the greens begin to brown. If you like a cooked yolk, pierce the yolks about three to four minutes after they go under the broiler.
By now the water is boiling, add the reserved water and that you squeezed from your spinach, some salt, and your dry polenta. Cook until it begins to thicken, then add the cheese. Stir until polenta is thick and creamy.
Divide the polenta into two bowls, and top with a "Nest." Serve immediately.
This sounds tough, but the only hard portion is timing, the nests must come from the oven just as the polenta is finished. But once you get that straight, it is actually a pretty quick and easy breakfast that has a very nice presentation appeal.
The original version of this recipe calls for the spinach to be blanched, drained, braised in a pan for 5 minutes, removed from heat, excess liquid removed, and then made into nests. The egg white and yolks are separated, and the greens with whites in the nest, are slowly cooked in the oven at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) for ten minutes. In the last five minutes, the reserved yolks are poured over the nests. In my version the greens are more tender, and the egg ends up more like a poached egg.
