Easy Baked Eggs Recipe

“A recipe is a story that ends with a good meal.”
~ Pat Conroy

Sometimes I need a warm, easy meal that takes just  a minute or two to throw together, but that is more substantial than toast. If I’m writing, and don’t want to leave what I am doing for too long, or at the end of a long working day when I want a tasty but effortless meal, baked eggs is a favourite go-to.

Baked eggs are remarkably simple, and can be thrown together with other ingredients in endless combination. Just a minute to assemble, some oven time, and no major clean up. I will often make one to eat straight away, and another to eat cold.

Ingredients:

The basic ingredients you will need per person are an egg, some butter, a little cream and cheese, some vegetables and if wanted, a little ham, cold meat or smoked salmon.

Good vegetable choices are tomato, capsicum (bell pepper), corn, spinach, kale, mushrooms, or diced cold leftover vegetables from a previous meal (go crazy!).

This is the perfect meal for anyone who is time poor or domestically challenged. It can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch or dinner. If you don’t have individual ramekins you could use a cup, or select a larger shallow bowl or tray and make a couple of servings in the one dish.

Method:

Preheat oven to moderate (160 degree celcius fan-forced or 180 degree oven – 350 degrees fahrenheit) and prepare a ramekin for each person by greasing lightly with a little butter.

Slice enough vegetables to nearly fill the ramekin. Today I’ve used golden tomatoes, mushrooms, red capsicum and a little smoked salmon, all roughly chopped into smaller pieces.

Layer the vegetables and salmon (or whatever else you are using) with a sprinkle or two of cheese and a grind or two of salt and pepper. Fill to nearly the top of the ramekin.

Crack an egg over the top, and then pour over a tablespoon or two of cream, and a final sprinkle of cheese. Add herbs or seasoning if wanted.

Bake for twenty minutes for a soft-yolked egg. Perfect for dunking toast. That’s the soft yolk, right in the centre of the pic, under the cheese! Mmmmm….

Break yolk and cook for thirty minutes if you prefer your baked egg to more closely resemble a quiche. ( A good option if working and not wanting to drip egg on keyboard.)

Serve on its own or with toast or a quick salad. So yummy and good!

I have even served these with a salad and good bread,  a dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream on top, a sprinkling of herbs and given them to guests as a pretend-fancy meal when I was too tired to do proper cooking. 🙂