While half the world only conceives eggs for breakfast, in our country we usually resort to them for quick preparations that solve lunches or, even better, dinner. Tastier and more elegant than cooked, healthier than fried and much simpler than scrambled or tortilla, Eggs on the plate are a traditional preparation very versatile that it never hurts to recover.
The name “al plato” is typically Spanish, although its technique is repeated in many other cuisines. And it is that it does not have much mystery: it consists of curdling in the oven, or on a heat source, one or more open eggs on or together with other foods already cooked or raw. The possibilities it offers to customize the recipe to taste they are almost infinite, and the most practical thing will always be to take advantage of leftovers or simply open some preserves.
What are eggs on the plate
If we don’t get too fussy, the eggs on the plate are nothing more than Baked eggs, of which there are many more variants and possible ways of cooking them. However, tradition suggests that this dish is presented individually, on a low walled casseroleceramic or refractory clay, often decorated with small handles or ears to facilitate transport to the table
The idea is to present a complete plate in individual servings, in which the cooking container is the same as the serving one. Thus, we can differentiate eggs on the plate from other similar preparations such as eggs en cocotte, in a casserole or pan, such as shakshuka, which often cover more diners and force the content to be distributed among different plates.
How to prepare perfect eggs on the plate
Eggs being the main ingredient in the recipe, it is worth choosing a few good quality, fresh, preferably from real free-range chickens, raised with access to the outdoors and fed grain. The egg code is the one indicated by the bird breeding system: the ideal is to buy eggs that begin with 0 (organic) or 1 (raised on the ground).
Depending on the size of the eggs, how hungry we are or the rest of the menu, we can use a single unit or two per person. If possible, we will leave the eggs to warm up for 20-30 minutes outside the fridge, so that they are not too cold before cooking them.
All that remains is to choose the other half of the recipe, which will be the base on which the eggs are curdled, or their accompaniment. Here a whole universe of possibilities opens up, because there is no canonical recipe and we can play with all kinds of ingredients.
Lovers of dipping bread will prefer juicier elaborations, type of sauce, such as ratatouille, sautéed onion and leek, potatoes or simple homemade fried tomato. We can sauté the vegetables that we have in the fridge or cook them, and can also start from frozen products (such as peas or spinach) or use, directly, preserves such as the typical stew, broad beans or green beans.
can also be enrich with sausage and cold cuts, minced meat, remains of stew or roast meat, a bolognese or cubes of bacon, bacon or cooked ham. Versions with fish or shellfish are also perfectly acceptable, for which canned or already cooked formats are also very practical, and cheeses or a thick cream or béchamel base.
The ideal container, as we have already mentioned, are the typical low casseroles with or without handles, ceramic or clay, although we can resort to any small source of refractory material, even metal. There are also versions of plated eggs on edible items, although they would rather fall into the more generic category of baked eggs (bread pans, vegetables, avocado, etc.).
LOVECASA Pastry Baking Dish, Set of 4 Pieces 170ML Mini Porcelain Enameled Baking Dish for Tarts, Dessert, Lasagna, Pie, Soufflé 16CM, Oval
Menax – Mini Casserole – Vitrified Steel – Set of 6 – Diameter 14 cm
Pack of 12 round clay casseroles, outer diameter 11.3 cm, inner diameter 9.7 cm, suitable for vitro and oven
STAUB Stackable Round Dish, Cast Iron, Black, 16 cm
It is advisable grease the dishes with oil or butter before adding the ingredients, and the oven should always be preheated to no more than 200ºC, slightly less if fan-cooled air is used. Some people prefer to cook them at lower temperatures to better control that the yolk does not curdle too much.
The egg can be added last, on top of the other ingredients, or arranged first on the casserole to add the garnishes around it. Another option is to have the white first, add more ingredients and finish with the yolk; In addition, the eggs can be crowned with spices, cheese, herbs or other dressings. Yes indeed, salt is added just before servingnever before on the raw yolk, or it could spoil its texture.
The end point of cooking depends on personal taste, although the ideal is for the egg white to be evenly curdled, with a bright white color, and the yolk very sweet or almost raw. They should be served immediately, because with the residual heat the egg will continue to cook. In addition, it is possible to cook them on the stove or stove, preferably covering the container to create steam.
A trick to obtain a more homogeneous cooking is break the white with the fork that is around the yolk, separating it carefully. As indicated Arthur LeCaisne in ‘Why don’t spaghetti bolognese exist?’, this is because that part of the white in fresh eggs is very thick and needs a higher temperature to coagulate, forcing us to lengthen the cooking time, thus affecting to the yolk Another alternative is to separate both, arrange the white, break it slightly in the center, and deposit the yolk on top.
Egg dish recipes
Eggs on the plate in the Basque-French style
Cut the washed peppers in thin stripsas well as the onion. We also wash and chop the tomatoes and garlic cloves. Chop the clean and dry basil leaves with a knife.
In a casserole, heat the oil and sauté the onion and peppers for about eight minutes, add the tomatoes and garlic and cook for another 15 minutes on medium heat. Add the serrano ham cubes and salt a little.
Add the chopped basil and the Espelette pepper or black pepper, season with salt. We go to individual pots or pans or a large one, and we make nests where we will hatch the eggs. Cook over low heat until the white sets, but the yolk is still liquid. We can also curdle them in a preheated oven at 180-200ºC. We serve very hot.
More details in the full recipe.
Eggs on the plate with tomato and pepper sauce
- Ingredients for 1 person. 400 g of natural canned chopped tomato, 1 canned roasted red pepper, 1 clove of garlic, 1 sprig of thyme, 5 small gherkins, 2 eggs, salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil and fresh parsley.
- Elaboration. Preheat the oven to 200º C and prepare a casserole. Drain the tomato in a colander, stirring gently to remove the water. Transfer to the prepared container. Add the chopped roasted pepper, the finely chopped or grated garlic, a pinch of salt and pepper, thyme and a drizzle of olive oil. Stir gently and bake for 5-8 minutes. Add the chopped or chopped gherkins, stir and form two small separate holes. Add the eggs to each one, season with salt and pepper and return to the oven, lowering the temperature to 170º C. Bake until the yolk is to taste and serve with chopped parsley.
More details in the full recipe.
Eggs on the plate with sobrassada
- Ingredients for 2 people. 2 eggs, sobrassada, extra virgin olive oil, salt and Provencal herbs.
- Elaboration. Grease two small trays that can go in the oven with oil. We separate the whites from the yolks of eggs. We put the whites in the little plates greased with oil and on them we distribute pieces of sobrasada, to taste. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. When it reaches the temperature, we bake the trays for 8 minutes. We take them out of the oven, put the yolks on them that will break due to the heat and bake for 2 more minutes. Remove, salt and sprinkle with the Provencal herbs. Serve right away.
More details in the full recipe.
Eggs on the plate with spinach
- Ingredients for 4 people. 1 kg of fresh spinach, washed and chopped, 1 small chopped spring onion, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 bay leaf, 4 peppercorns, 3 cloves (optional), 1/2 teaspoon of cumin grains, 25 g of raisins, 20 g of pine nuts, 300 g of tomato sauce, 4 eggs, ground pepper, salt and extra virgin olive oil.
- Elaboration. Preheat the oven on the grill function, or at 220ºC, and prepare four casseroles. Heat a little oil in a large saucepan with all the spices, over a very low heat, until they begin to release their aroma. Add the spring onion and garlic and fry. Add the raisins and pine nuts, sautéing everything until they are slightly toasted. Remove the cinnamon stick, bay leaf and cloves; Also the peppercorns if you can see them. Add spinach, in batches. When they are all in the pot, add salt and pepper to taste and let the liquid evaporate or drain them carefully. Allow to cool while spreading the tomato in the bottom of the pans, a not very thick layer. Cover with spinach, leaving a hole in the center. Crack the eggs, one by one, into a bowl or glass and carefully place in the center. Add a dash of pepper and bake on the highest level of the oven until set to your liking.
More details in the full recipe.
Eggs on the plate with old clothes
- Ingredients for 2 people. Leftovers from the stew (chickpeas, potato, beef, chicken…), 400 g of fried tomato, 2 eggs, 1 onion and a little sweet paprika.
- Elaboration. Brown an onion cut into julienne strips in the pan, with a drizzle of olive oil, then add the paprika and stir, to finally add the shredded leftovers. If we see that it is a little dry, we can add another splash of oil. So far, the old clothes. Now we pour the fried tomato into the pan, stir a little and let the flavor of the tomato permeate the meat well before dividing the mixture into two clay pots. Finally, we open an egg on each clay pot and bake for 8 or 10 minutes at 200ºC, depending on how done we want the yolk to be. It is recommended to serve with a good amount of bread, because it is one of those dishes to dip and slice.
More details in the full recipe.
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Photos | iStock – Craige Morsels – Philip Youngman – Amy Ross
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