Green eggs (called ‘green’ because of the parsley) was something I used to eat all the time as a child. They are strangely addictive and if you think 3 eggs per person (what you find within a man-sized omelette) is a lot, think again. That’s 6 halves per person and I unashamedly admit that is a normal portion of green eggs for me.
Green eggs always made my top ten favourite foods as a child and I would jump with joy every time I was told that we had “green eggs for lunch”. They are simple, peasant food but really lovely to eat.
In a few of the green eggs recipes I have seen in Portuguese food magazines, the egg mixture is bound with mayonnaise but I cannot stress the difference when you use olive oil as the binding fat. It is infinitely better (than you Mum for another little gem).
Besides their loveliness and the fact that they are both adult and child friendly, the other nice thing about green eggs is that you can mix whatever you think works with the yolks (e.g. tuna, pancetta, parma ham) and experiment with different herbs (e.g. chives, dill). Or if you are a vegetarian you can simply not add any meat or fish to the egg mixture and instead add spring onions or chopped braised leek. You can also make variations by replacing the mustard with pesto or any other ingredient you think will work.
- 14 eggs
- water to boil
- 1 tbsp parsley chopped
- 2 tbsp gammon or any cooked ham
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
- salt
- black pepper freshly ground
- breadcrumbs the finer the better
- sunflower oil to fry
- Boil 12 eggs by placing them in a large pan with cold water. When the water is boiling, reduce heat so it’s just a simmer, cover with a lid and let the eggs boil for 10 minutes (you need the white to be firm so boiling for less time will make a lovely boiled egg but not as firm as it needs to be for this recipe). When the time is up, remove the eggs and place them in cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Peel the eggs carefully so not to damage the egg white and cut them in half lengthways.
- Remove all the egg yolks and place in a bowl.
- Chop the ham into very small cubes. I used gammon (which I cooked by boiling it first for 45 min per Kg, brushing it with olive oil and runny honey and then roasting it in a medium hot oven for 30 minutes or until nicely brown on the surface). You can also use normal ham from a packet.
- Add the ham, the chopped parsley and the mustard to the egg yolks and bind with ½ tbsp olive oil. At this stage you may need to add a bit more olive oil, but if the mixture is clumping together to the point you can mould it, then it’s got enough oil in it. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Mould small elongated egg-shaped balls and fit them inside the empty cavities of the boiled egg halves.
- Heat a pan with about an inch of sunflower oil on medium high heat. In a small bowl beat 2 eggs and in another bowl place your breadcrumbs. Dip each egg half into the egg mixture first and then coat it well with breadcrumbs. If you can use fine breadcrumbs or make some yourself. Using flour before dipping into the egg mixture can sometimes help it stick to the side of the boiled eggs but I tried one without and it worked fine.
- Fry the egg halves in the hot oil until they are golden brown throughout. You will have to turn them half way.
- Place on kitchen roll to absorb the extra fat and serve as a starter or a main with rice and salad.
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