Baked Eggs with Broccoli and Mushrooms

What do you do when you wake up hungry and realise there’s no bread, cereal, oats or flour for chappatis, but only eggs and a few vegetables? It’s time to bake eggs! Yes, you read right. I know you may have not considered this an option — baking an egg — but trust me, a baked egg is worth getting out of bed for.

Every bite bursts with the goodness of broccoli, mushrooms, eggs (of course!), tomatoes, garlic, onions, cheese, olive oil, pepper and oregano. The first three super foods alone should fill you up with your daily dose of proteins, vitamins and minerals and other nutrients, not to mention energy to begin the day. Oh, and if slicing them is too much work, put them in the food processor with the slicer on.

You can use the same pan on the stove and then push it off in the oven or you can cook in two separate pans. Entirely up to you. And it’s quite alright if you’re missing any one or even two of the ingredients. Even if you’re missing broccoli and mushrooms or cheese. Yes, you just egg on! The hero’s the egg, and we’re going to give it its due.

I ate mine with a cob of corn as I was sharing the dish with two others (sniff!). If it had been just me, I’d’ve eaten half of it and saved the corn for lunch or dinner. So I guess this dish serves two. If you are sharing it among three or four people, then I suggest you serve it up with a slice or two of toast or a small cob of corn. And wash it all down with tea!

One more thing — I kept the eggs in long enough for the yolks to toughen up a little, as I don’t like mine runny. This means everything else turns a little crispy. But if you like yours runny, I suggest you take take them out a little earlier (I’ve mentioned the timings below) for that sticky goodness. Or, five minutes after you’ve kept the pan in the oven just hover over to watch the eggs, and pull them out when the eggs are cooked through to your liking. So you get the crunch from the veggies, and the gooeyness from the eggs and cheese.

 

 

Baked Eggs with Broccoli and Mushrooms

2 servings

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 medium tomato, sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 1 and 1/2 cups sliced broccoli
• 1 cup sliced mushroom
• 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes (you could use pepper instead), divided
• Mozzarella or cheddar cheese, cubed, a handful (increase or decrease the amount depending on how much you like cheese)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC (356ºF).
2. Add the olive oil to a skillet over medium heat.
3. Once heated, add the onion, garlic, broccoli and mushroom. Sauté for 3 minutes and then add the tomatoes, salt, chilli flakes (save a pinch for the end), and oregano. Cook until softened. Don’t let them turn brown. Stir them around for 3 more minutes and turn off the heat.
4. Empty it all into a low baking dish. Make three tiny depressions and crack the eggs over them.
5. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked to your liking (about 10 minutes if you like the yolks runny — do watch over them, though).
6. Remove from the oven and sprinkle a pinch of chilli flakes on top.

 

Serving: Serve hot to get the gooey egg and cheese and crunch of the broccoli and mushrooms. It can be eaten at room temperature or cold, later in the day — as heating it will only further cook the egg; it can be eaten with a slice or two of toast or a cob of corn. Finish it the same day, though.