Hodgepodge Baked Eggs

Three things I love:
1. Breakfast
2. Successful breakfast experiments
3. Using up odd ingredients in the fridge to make a complete meal.

In assessing my food bills of the past year, the idea is sinking in that it is the amount of food waste in the kitchen that ratchets up overall food costs, not the fact that I usually shop for more expensive ingredients.  I don't waste truffle oil, but I do find myself throwing out a lot of wilting lettuces and moldy tomatoes. This year it is one of my goals to live more consciously around food and take responsibility for how much is wasted by my own habits.

For this particular breakfast, I pulled odd-numbered, halves, and leftover bits of ingredients from the fridge, and came up with the recipe below.

Hodgepodge Baked Eggs

Serves 2

Equipment:
One three-compartment cast-iron skillet, or a cupcake pan

Ingredients:
One Tbsp butter (or olive oil if you swing that way)
One half of a shallot clove, minced (about a Tbsp, and any onion would work for this)
Three large green olives, thinly sliced (one per egg cup)
Three large eggs
Two ounces cheddar cheese, grated
One half of an avocado, thinly sliced
1/4 cup pre-made salsa
Black pepper
Four slices bread for toasting

Method:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Heavily butter all sides of the compartments of the cast iron skillet or cupcake pan.
Finely dice one half a shallot and sprinkle evenly across the bottom of the three compartments.
Crack eggs directly into compartments.
Thinly slice three large olives, (these were of the green, jarred, garlic-stuffed variety) and spread one each across the top of the eggs.
Crack a turn of pepper over each compartment.
Bake at 350F for 17 to 19 minutes depending on your preference for egg yolk doneness.
Remove from oven and let rest for a minute before sliding a knife fully around the edges of each baked egg to unmold.
With a silicone spatula in hand, engage in a lively discussion regarding who gets the third egg and help the eggs out of their molds onto plates.
Top plates with shredded cheddar cheese, avocado slices, and store-bought salsa.  Serve with buttered toast.

 

Notes: There is no need to add salt to this dish as the olives provide plenty of their own. These eggs baked for 19 minutes to fully cook the yolks which is how the loving compadre prefers them and coincidentally when I remembered to check them. Apologies for the mediocre plated food photo. We were so hungry this was an action photo.