Baked Eggs with Swiss Chard & Garlic Croutons

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We’ve been really  blessed these past few weeks having been gifted with some lovely free-range farm eggs.  They are just beautiful eggs and we are most appreciative of them! 

We’ve also been fabulously gifted with bags of beautiful vegetables  . . .  corn, beans, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, cabbages, courgettes, beetroot and some lovely rainbow Swiss chard.  I adore Swiss chard.

Like Kale or spinach, it lends itself beautifully to stir frying, and other simple preparations.  Just so long as you wash it really well.  Dirt collects in all of those wrinkley folds, so do take care and wash it well.  I like to put it into a pan of cold water and give it a good swish around, and then a quick rinse under the tap again.  After that you can put it into a net bag, go out into the garden and swing it around a few times to dry it off a bit.

Today I braised the swiss chard in a skillet, with a bit of white wine and some fresh herbs from the garden.  Chard and kale do take longer to cook than spinach. They lend themselves beautifully to braising . . .  

While it was braising I had some leftover ciabatta that I toasted in a skillet and made into croutons.  I love croutons . . .

and then I broke one of those lovely farm fresh eggs into those hollows and popped the dishes into the oven . . .

It only takes about 10 to 15 minutes and you have beautifully baked eggs. I sprinkled a few more fresh herbs on top, a sprinkle of sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper, and dinner was served!

Serves 2

You can actually bake eggs over a multitude of things . . .  ratatouille, stewed tomatoes, peppers, etc.  We especially like this version I came up with when gifted with a lovely big bag of rainbow Swiss Chard and some very fresh Hen eggs! Summer in a dish.

2 TBS butter

2 slices of a rustic type of bread, cut into cubes

pinch each garlic and onion powder

2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped

2 big bunches of chard, any colour, stems trimmed off and leaves roughly chopped

60ml dry white wine or vegetable stock

1 TBS chopped fresh parsley

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 to 4 (depending on appetites) large free range eggs

Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Melt half of the butter in a large skillet. Add the cubes of bread and dust lightly with some onion and garlic powders, salt and black pepper. Toss together and brown lightly over medium heat, until golden brown but not hard. Scoop out and set aside.  Melt the remaining butter in the skillet.  Add the shallots.  Stir and cook until softened without colouring.  Add the chard and white wine, along with a healthy seasoning of salt and black pepper.  Mix together the herbs and toss most of them into the pan, reserving some for the garnish.  Cook and toss together.  Cover and cook until well wilted and tender.  Divide between two buttered single sized baking dishes along with the croutons.  Make a well in the centre and crack in one or two eggs.   Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or so until the whites are set and the yolks to your preference. Dust with a bit of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and a sprinkle of the reserved herbs. Serve immediately.

Oh, I am so enjoying all of these beautiful gifts of the season this year.  You can’t go wrong with vegetables that are freshly grown and local.  This summer weather has been really good to us and our vegetable gardens this year!  We are truly blessed! Bon Appetit!