Put An Egg On It!

Is seems like chefs are putting eggs on everything lately... Is this a New York thing, or are people just becoming comfortable with eggs again?

Dry salad? Put an egg on it!
Boring burger? Put an egg on it!
Sad soup? Put an egg on it!

It reminds me of this episode of Portlandia. It's a lot like "put a bird on it," except the baby version.

But I promise you, it's not that difficult and it really does make a big difference on a ho-hum salad, especially when it's cold outside and a chilly bowl of lettuce is the last thing that sounds good for dinner. This recipe was inspired by a fancy dinner at A Voce in New York City.
 
Peppery Fall Salad with Egg
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 T sherry vinegar
3 T olive oil
Pinch of kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 fresh pasteurized eggs
4 C fresh, peppery greens like frisee or arugula

Mix up the mustard, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper in a cruet, or by whisking with a fork in a small bowl or using a tiny whisk - everyone has a tiny whisk at home, right?

Poach the eggs: Place a square of plastic wrap in a small bowl and spray it with just a tiny bit of cooking spray. Crack an egg into the wrap, so that it sinks down into the bowl. Then twist up the plastic wrap to make a little egg package, winding the closure as tight as you can. Repeat for each egg, then carefully place all the egg packages into a small pot of boiling water, being careful not to leave any portion of the plastic wrap hanging outside the pot. (Just trust me when I tell you that you don't want plastic melting down the side.) Boil for 4 minutes until the egg is just set, and carefully remove the egg packages from the boiling water with tongs.

Carefully unwrap one egg onto the center of each salad, but wait to break the yolk until just before serving. The uninitiated dinner guest may be a little hesitant about mixing in the egg, but the resulting warm yolk offsets the peppery bite of greens, mustard and vinegar creating something entirely new.

Oh yes, and you can certainly add bacon to this. We do. (To everything.)

Pasture Perfect: How You Can Benefit from Choosing Meat, Eggs, and Dairy Products from Grass-Fed Animals

We have met the salads, and they are ours

Rare is the dive bar that serves good food, which is why most people don't eat in bars unless they're very drunk or not very discerning eaters. (It should be noted that the latter often follows the former.) But there's one special bar in Brooklyn with a vague nautical theme where I make an exception. The food there is delicious, far better than it has any right to be considering the whole bar looks like someone's basement in the Midwest. I'd tell you where this wonderful place is, but then I'd have to fight you for a seat.*

Now think: what's the sketchiest thing you could order in a bar? A salad, hands down. But I promise you, this bar's green salad with cheddar, onions and pickles is one of the best salads I've ever tasted. And I wasn't even drunk.

We recreated it at home recently and added bacon - because, why not? And so I give you...

Green Salad with Onion, Pickles and Cheddar

Serves 2 as a first course

4 C chopped green lettuce
2 oz. white cheddar, sliced wafer-thin
2 green onions, sliced thin (or 1/4 small red onion)
4-6 T sliced cornichons or dill pickles
6 T olive oil
3 T sherry vinegar
Pinch of salt
Fresh ground black pepper
3 slices of thick-cut bacon (optional)

To make the dressing, whisk the olive oil, sherry vinegar, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. If you're substituting red onion like we did, I'd recommend mixing that in too so that it has a chance to soften a little while you assemble the rest of the ingredients. You could even pickle the onion if you're feeling fancy.

Cook and drain the bacon until it's crisp; set aside to cool and then crumble into bite-size pieces. (If you're vegetarian, feel free to skip this step.)

Place the lettuce in a large bowl and mix in the dressing. Add the pickles, bacon and onion and mix well. Add the cheddar once the salad is plated. This last method is a tip from Healthy Appetite chef Ellie Krieger: adding high-calorie toppings at the end makes it seem like you have more and you'll feel more satiated than if they're hidden in the dish.


*Oh FINE. There's a clue in the title of this post. Just keep it between us when you figure it out, okay?

Recreating a rockin' rocket salad

I can almost pinpoint my love of rocket arugula to the day. It was shortly after we'd moved to NYC, and we sat out on the back patio of a charming little Italian restaurant in East Williamsburg next to a gas station. (If you've been to Brooklyn, you'll know this is no reason to pass judgement on a restaurant - especially if there's a line of people waiting to get in.) 

We ordered some pasta or another, and a simple salad described only as "Rocket Arugula Salad with Lemon", I believe. It was amazing and nothing at all like the arugula I'd had before - light, fresh, with just enough acid in the lemon juice squeezed on top to offset the warmth of the extra-virgin olive oil, and sprinkled liberally with Pecorino, salt and fresh pepper. I've been recreating it at home ever since. 

Rocket Arugula with Lemon

Serves 2

4 cups of washed and dried rocket arugula (aka roquette)
1 lemon
4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil (the best you can afford)
4 teaspoons of grated Parmesan, Romano or Pecornio cheese 
Kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste

Divide arugula between two bowls. Squeeze half of the lemon onto each, holding your hand beneath the lemon to catch any seeds. Drizzle half of the olive oil on each, sprinkle with cheese and add salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste. If you're feeling adventurous, try substituting white pepper or adding a little pinch of hot pepper flakes.


One of the most important ingredients in this dish is a quality cheese, which can totally change the flavor of the salad depending on what you prefer. Want to learn about more great cheeses and what they can do for your other dishes? Check out The Cheese Lover's Companion book.