Breadcrumb-Fried Eggs
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We have Russ Parsons to thank for this bit of eggy deliciousness. Thank you, Mr. Parsons. I found this recipe a few months ago in one of hisLA Times columns when I had like 5 cartons of eggs in my fridge. The chickens were enjoying spring and spitting out eggs as fast as I could gather them. For reasons unknown to myself, I didn’t actually try this recipe until last week when I had exactly 4 eggs in the fridge. The chickens are definitely NOT enjoying summer. I do get a little miffed at them when between the 5 of them they can only manage to squeeze out 1 egg a day. If I were to calculate the cost of their feed and cracked corn treats (which I cannot bring myself to do), this becomes a rather expensive little egg. But still worth it if you’ve ever eaten a home-laid egg. Is home-laid even a term?
But I digress. Breadcrumb-fried eggs are scrumptious. And as an extra bonus, they’re incredibly easy to make. Just mix together some breadcrumbs, olive oil and a few herbs. I also added grated parmesan cheese, which I highly recommend. Lightly toast the breadcrumbs
and then separate them into as many little flat discs as you have eggs.
Crack an egg onto each disc
and then cover the pan and cook until the eggs are set to your liking. I found that my breadcrumbs started to get a little dark so I finished the eggs under the broiler and they turned out fabulous.
Mr. Parsons suggests that you try serving these over lightly cooked asparagus, and I think you might want to follow his advice. Mr. Parsons knows what he’s talking about here.
If you only have 3 or 4 (or 1) eggs in your fridge, this is what you want to do with them. Seriously. They’re heavenly. Here’s the recipe…
Breadcrumb-Fried Eggs
Click here for a printable recipe
Recipe adapted from Russ Parsons
These eggs are incredibly delicious all on their own, but they're spectacular atop a bundle of fresh asparagus. Mr. Parsons used 4 eggs with the 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs, but I found that to be not quite enough breadcrumbs, but just enough for 3. See what you think. I also did not do the last step which calls for adding vinegar to the empty pan to get up the last crumbs because the vinegar made the breadcrumbs soggy. But I liked the vinegar on them. So I would say that this step is optional. The only other changes I made to the recipe were to add some grated Parmesan cheese to the breadcrumb mixture and to swap out the thyme for some of my Tuscan Herb Salt. I think that just about any herb would work here, though.
Serves 3
½ cup of fresh breadcrumbs
1 tablespoons good olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (or any herb of your choice)
3 eggs
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 to 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
In a bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, parmesan, olive oil and chopped thyme.
Place the breadcrumb mixture in a 10-inch skillet and toast until lightly golden.
Form the breadcrumbs into 4 flat mounds that are as near to a single layer as you can manage. Immediately crack an egg over each mound, cover the pan and cook the eggs over medium heat until the yolks are as firm as you like.
Transfer the eggs to a plate. Add the vinegar to the hot pan and scrape up any crumbs that are stuck to the pan and pour that over the top of the eggs.
Variation:
Gently steam or roast about 6 asparagus spears per person. Place on a plate and drizzle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Lay a couple of the breadcrumb-fried eggs over each bundle of asparagus.
