Cloudy With a Chance of Eggwhites
When I go out to brunch, I am not the kind of girl to order an eggwhite omelette with all vegetables, no cheese and half a grapefruit on the side. I want fat stacks of fluffy pancakes oozing maple syrup, crispy slices of bacon, spicy breakfast potatoes...I could go on but I'm going to give my computer water damage.
Occasionally, however, I recognize that man cannot live on chocolate chip pancakes alone (although I don't blame him for trying) and that sometimes healthier fare is in order. Enter eggs in clouds.
I was minding my own business perusing Buzzfeed the other day when I stumbled across a listicle for 103 things you never thought of doing with an egg or some such nonsense. Most of the recipes looked labor intensive and/or gross but one caught my eye: eggs in clouds. A sunny yolk nestled in a cocoon of eggwhites flavored with anything from bacon to goat cheese and sprinkled with fresh herbs. Four ingredients? Minimal effort? Sign me up.
This recipe is very easy, (really, it takes maybe 15 minutes start to finish) surprisingly healthy and very customizable. I used parmesan, canadian bacon and parsley in my clouds this morning but feel free to use real bacon, goat cheese, feta, chives, basil...whatever your little heart desires. Just don't include any ingredients with a high water content like tomatoes because it'll mess up the clouds.
This recipe is also suprisingly filling. Usually I can blast through two sunny-side up eggs like it's my job but something about the fluffy baked eggwhites just filled me up in a serious way. Definitely enough to power me through until lunch, which is good.
I recommend using a hand-held beater for this recipe because it's not enough eggwhites to really necessitate a stand mixer. You can also beat them by hand if you fancy an early-morning arm workout.
This recipe is slightly adapted from The Cooking Jar (which slightly adapted it from that demonic woman Rachael Ray)
Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 large slice Canadian bacon (or 3 small slices), cooked and diced
1/4 c. fresh curly leaf parsley, minced
1/8 c. parmesan, shredded
Directions:
1. Carefully separate the eggs, putting the yolks in separate bowls and the whites into one large metal mixing bowl.
2. Beat the eggwhites until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold in the parsley, parmesan and canadian bacon.
3. Dollop onto a baking sheet covered in parchment paper, making four mounds. Using the back of a spoon or a measuring cup, create a deep indent in each.
4. Bake at 450F for about 3 minutes. Carefully pour an egg yolk into each of the indentations. Bake for 2-3 minutes more or until yolk is set to your liking. Season with black pepper and serve immediately.
