Eggs are an affordable good-quality source of protein that doesn’t only have to be reserved for brunch or baking. One large free-range egg costs about R4, making it an affordable source of protein compared to meat. In addition, eggs have less saturated fat which means that they are low in cholesterol. It’s a good idea to add an egg to your salad as it helps your body absorb vitamin E from raw, mixed vegetables.
Next time you’re at a loss for what to make for dinner, try these three eggcellent dishes.
Asian Fried Rice
This is a great recipe to make when you have leftover rice. It uses kimchi, which is a spicy Korean fermented cabbage pickle which is a world superfood that is excellent for your gut health! It adds a bang of flavour, but you can totally leave it out if you like.
Serves 2
What You Need:
- 1 small onion, chopped
- Olive oil or canola oil
- 1⁄2 cup roughly chopped kimchi, with juice (optional)
- 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 1⁄2 cup shelled, steamed edamame
- 2-3 tsp soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 eggs
For the garnish
- Sliced nori / dried seaweed (optional)
- Coriander leaves
- Chopped green chilli or chilli flakes (optional)
Method:
- Sauté the onion in some oil over medium-high heat. After a few minutes, when the onions are starting to colour, add the kimchi (and juice).
- In a separate pan, dry toast the sesame seeds over medium-high heat until fragrant and golden. Once cooked, remove the seeds and set them aside.
- After the kimchi and onions have cooked for about five minutes, turn the heat down slightly and add the rice and edamame to the pan. Add the soy sauce and sesame oil and stir through to combine.
- Meanwhile, heat a little oil in the sesame-seed pan over medium-high heat and fry the eggs (sunny-side up). Once they’re cooked to your liking, remove from the heat.
- The rice will have browned slightly by now. Remove from the heat and divide between two bowls. Garnish each bowl with an egg, nori slices, sesame seeds, coriander and chilli.
Mexican Baked Eggs
This Mexican-style bean recipe alone is a winner for a vegan dinner! Try it in a wrap, stuffed in a pepper or added to a warm Buddha bowl. Here we give it a little twist by adding some eggs into the bean mix to cook and serve as extra protein. Serve this Mexican goodness in bowls with some tacos or nacho chips for extra crunch. Friday night sorted!
Serves 4
What You Need:
- Olive oil
- 1⁄2 tsp smoky paprika
- 1⁄2 tsp cumin
- 2 jalapeños, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup fresh cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
- 1 tin black beans or red kidney beans
- 4 eggs
To serve:
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1 red chilli, sliced, or chilli flakes, to taste
- Fresh rocket leaves (or coriander)
- 8 corn tacos (optional)
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180 ̊C.
- Heat the olive oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, sauté the spices, jalapeño slices and garlic until fragrant. Add the tinned tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and beans and stir everything together. Allow to cook for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Turn the stovetop off. Make four wells in the mixture and crack an egg into each well. Place the skillet into the oven and cook until the eggs are set (and cooked to your liking) for about 10 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and serve with avocado, chilli, herbs and the tacos prepared according to package instructions.
Green “Shakshuka” with Salmon
Instead of the red tomato mixture that normally comes with a shakshuka, this dish uses green vegetables to form the “base” of the pan. You can swop the asparagus for sliced courgettes (baby marrows), depending on what’s in season. Broccoli florets will also work beautifully here. To keep this dish vegetarian, you can let go of the salmon.
Serves 2
What You Need:
- 2 leeks, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, very finely chopped
- Chilli flakes (optional)
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 bunch asparagus, chopped
- 1 cup baby peas, defrosted
- 2 handfuls baby spinach
- 4 eggs
- Salt and pepper
- 50g smoked trout, torn into pieces (optional)
- Lemon juice
- Sauté the leeks and garlic in olive oil in a large heavy-based pan (add chilli flakes, if using).
- Add the asparagus and sauté for one minute. Add the peas and sauté for another minute. Stir in the baby spinach until just wilted.
- Make four wells in the vegetable mixture. Crack an egg into each well. Season, then place the lid on the pan and cook for a couple more minutes, until the eggs are cooked through.
- Serve immediately with some pieces of trout (optional) and a squeeze of lemon juice.
To learn more about how much protein you should eat in a day, click here.