What to do with excess of eggs
As I mentioned in my last post I often receive a box of eggs in my weekly vegetable box. It sometimes happens that I get a box of eggs every week for three or four weeks running, and when that happens I can suddenly find I have about twelve eggs that need using fairly quickly. So I have been looking out ideas and recipes that use up two or three eggs at a time so that I can get through them.
I do have some criteria for egg recipes. I have to make sure the ones in my vegetable box are thoroughly cooked as I suspect they haven’t been pasteurised (quite often they still have the odd feather and some straw sticking to them!), so soft boiled eggs are out. They are lovely eggs, with a bright yellow yolk, very different to the pale supermarket eggs. I also won’t cook with raw eggs, so any kind of mousse or sauce with raw eggs is out. I suppose thats the legacy of growing up in the 80s when there was a big hype about salmonella, but I’m afraid I couldn’t knowingly eat a raw egg!
My top savoury recipe ideas are as follows:
Cheesy scrambled eggs
Take two eggs and break them into a microwaveable bowl. Whisk them round. Add a dash of milk, and a bit of salt and pepper. Chop one slice of strong cheddar cheese into small cubes and stir this into the egg mixture.
Cook the eggs in the microwave on high power, for between one and two minutes in total – stir after the first 30 seconds, then after the next 20 seconds, then after every 10 seconds until they reach the consistency of your choice.
While the eggs are cooking put a piece of bread on to toast, or a pitta bread. Serve with the eggs.
Egg mayonnaise wraps
Boil some eggs in a pan of water for at least 10 minutes. I normally do 3 at a time, which is enough for two wraps.
When they are cooked, peel the eggs and mash them up with a dab of butter, a squirt of light mayonnaise, and some salt and plenty of pepper.
I do these the night before, and leave them in the fridge overnight. Then in the morning I spread the egg on my wrap with some cress, and wrap it up to take to work.
Frittata
Frittata is a very flexible way of using up both eggs and spare vegetables. The following recipe is for one person but its easy to increase the quantities and size of the frying pan for more portions. You can basically use any kind of vegetables – either cook them with the potato for a bit first, or put them in the frying pan, whichever is most suitable. Just remember the more veg you use, the more eggs you will need.
Peel and slice one small potato, and put it in a pan to boil for 10-15 minutes until soft. While this is cooking, chop up a mushroom, a third of a red pepper and half a small onion, and fry them gently. I use an oil spray for frying things normally. It gives good coverage of oil whilst keeping the fat content down.
Meanwhile whisk up two large eggs in a bowl. Add salt, pepper, herbs of your choice, a few garlic granules and chilli powder or flakes.
When the potatoes (and any other veg)are cooked, drain them and add them to the frying pan. Add more oil spray and brown them a bit. Then pour the egg mixture over, and slowly tip it round the pan to cover all the vegetables.
Slice a little bit of cheese, and if you want, get a few sausage or pepperoni slices. When the frittata is cooked on the bottom, sprinkle the cheese and meat over the top, which will still be a bit runny and then pop the pan under the grill for a few minutes until the cheese melts.
Slide out of the pan onto a plate and eat. This recipe can be as healthy as you choose to make it depending on the quantities of vegetables and cheese or meat that you decide to use. There can be quite an art to not burning the bottom, not crisping up the edges too much, and ensuring the egg is cooked!
Eggs can also be used in many sweet recipes too of course, cakes and puddings, but I will save those ideas for a separate post.
