This weekend is Easter, and in our house, that means lots of hardboiled eggs. Now that our second child is old enough to take part in the egg-dying, I can’t imagine how many hardboiled eggs we’re going to have on hand. Let’s just say more than any family of four can consume with just salt and pepper.
So this week I am here to share some recipes of how we can all use up those hardboiled eggs in ways that they won’t become so tiresome. First up, pan bagnat, a sandwich that hails from the Provence region of France, and sort of replicates the flavors and ingredients of a nicoise salad. This sandwich is a common street food in Nice, France, and is considered best when it is prepared eight to 12 hours in advance so the flavors can meld together. This recipe made me laugh when it suggested making it a pressed sandwich by having a 7-year-old sit on it for 10 minutes on each side. That’s one way to get your kids to help in food preparation!
Next, I was quite interested in this recipe for bacon ‘n’ egg lasagna because I love having new ideas for brunch. Here you cook up the bacon, then make your white sauce with the bacon drippings, flour and milk. The layers are the lasagna noodles, sliced hardboiled eggs (a whole dozen of them!), crumbled bacon, Swiss cheese and the white sauce, and topped with Parmesan on top. It’s a little on the heavy side, but brunch counts as two meals, right?
And finally, a loaded avocado ricotta toast. Avocado toast has gotten pretty trendy, but there’s a reason — it’s delicious. I like mine with a nice soft yolk, but I’ll try this hardboiled egg version because what it lacks in runny yolk, it makes up for with ricotta mixed with mashed avocado. Adding some dressed grape tomatoes and more slices of avocado makes this a hearty but still pretty healthy dish.
Happy Easter!
Pan bagnat
2 anchovy fillets, minced (optional)
1 very small garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 8-inch round crusty country loaf or small ciabatta, halved
1 Kirby cucumber or ½ regular cucumber
1 medium-size, ripe tomato, sliced
½ small red onion, sliced
1 jar (5 to 6 ounces) tuna packed in olive oil, drained
8 large basil leaves
2 tablespoons sliced pitted olives, preferably a mix of black and green
1 hard-cooked egg, peeled and thinly sliced.
In a small bowl, whisk together the optional anchovies, the garlic, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in oil, whisking constantly.
If using a country loaf, pull out some soft interior crumb to form a cavity. If using a ciabatta, you won’t need to eliminate anything.
If using a Kirby cucumber, slice thinly. If using a regular cucumber, peel, halve lengthwise, and scoop out seeds from one half. Thinly slice seedless half. Add sliced cucumber to vinaigrette and toss well.
Spread half the cucumbers on bottom of bread. Top with tomato and onion slices, then with tuna, basil, olives and egg slices. Top egg with remaining cucumbers and vinaigrette. Cover with second bread half and firmly press sandwich together.
Wrap sandwich tightly in foil, waxed paper or plastic wrap, then place in a plastic bag. Put sandwich under a weight such as a cast-iron frying pan topped with a filled kettle, or have a child about 7 years old sit on it. Weight sandwich for 7 to 10 minutes, then flip and weight it for another 7 to 10 minutes (or as long as you can get the child to sit still). Unwrap, slice and serve immediately, or keep it wrapped for up to 8 hours before serving.
Bacon ‘n’ egg lasagna
1 pound sliced bacon, diced
1 large onion, chopped
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ to 1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
4 cups milk
12 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
12 hard-cooked eggs, sliced
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese
⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
In a skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels. Drain, reserving ⅓ cup drippings.
In the drippings, sauté onion until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until blended. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Spread ½ cup sauce in a greased 13-inch by 9-inch baking dish. Layer with four noodles, a third of the eggs and bacon, Swiss cheese and white sauce. Repeat layers twice. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with parsley. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting. Yields 12 servings.
Loaded avocado ricotta toast
2 hardboiled eggs, peeled and sliced
2-3 slices of sourdough sandwich bread
1 avocado, pit and skin removed
½ cup ricotta cheese
1 cup sliced grape tomatoes
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Pop the bread in the toaster. While it toasts, mash half of the avocado into the ricotta cheese and stir until creamy and smooth.
In a small bowl, drizzle the tomatoes with the balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
Assemble the toasts. Spread some of the ricotta avocado spread on each piece of toast. Top each toast with some tomatoes, egg slices, and the rest of the avocado. Sprinkle some kosher salt over the top of each. Serves 2.
