Breakfast for Dinner: Craving Spring Things

Let's face it: Spring is all about sex. Call it reproduction, fertility or, to use Anthony Boutard's favorite word, fecundity, nature is having a field day making more of itself. Hens start laying eggs again, little green things (weeds included) are popping out of the bare earth and farmers are finally able to get out in their fields to plant crops, muddy and clumpy though those fields may be.

Chorizo and spring vegetables…yum!

I've been longing for spring things lately, especially after a winter diet of root vegetables and winter greens, and my freezer is looking mighty empty since we've cleaned out most of the roasted tomatoes, lamb, pork and beef I crammed into it last fall. Luckily the farmers' market season is roaring back to life now, so it's easy to satisfy my craving for these first sweet sproutings.

Homemade sourdough cubes, natch!

With that in mind, a recent article by David Tanis in the Dining section of the New York Times about a Spanish dish of eggs and spring vegetables piqued my interest. Called revueltos or huevos revueltos, it basically means scrambled eggs and usually includes vegetables of one sort or another. Often found at tapas bars or served as a light supper dish—my fondness for these "breakfast for dinner" dishes is longstanding—the one that Tanis shared featured asparagus and bread cubes toasted in olive oil and garlic.

I happened to have picked up a couple of bunches of asparagus at the mid-week Shemanski market from Leslie at Viridian Farms, and had about half a bunch of green garlic left over from an earlier trip. Dinner was still an open question and I'd just replenished the egg supply, so I decided to follow the seeming synchronicity and give the dish a whirl.

Needless to say, and anyone who's made a frittata, quiche or even an omelet can attest, it was simple, quick and delicious. Perfect for a spring supper!

Revueltos (Scrambled Eggs) with Green Garlic and Asparagus

Adapted from David Tanis

Olive oil

2 peeled garlic cloves

2 c. dried bread cubes, cut in 1/2" cubes

3 oz. diced Spanish chorizo*

1 bunch asparagus, about 1 1/2 lbs., sliced in 1" lengths

1/2 bunch green garlic, sliced in 1" lengths

8 large eggs, beaten

1/2 tsp. Spanish pimentón (smoked paprika)

Salt to taste

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large non-stick skillet (or well-seasoned cast iron pan) over medium-high heat. Add peeled garlic cloves and let them sizzle until lightly browned, then remove. Add bread cubes, lower heat to medium and gently fry until lightly browned and crisp, about 2 minutes. Remove bread and set aside to cool.

Add chorizo and fry lightly. Add asparagus and green garlic and stir-fry until cooked through but firm, 3 to 4 minutes. 

Reduce heat to low. Add pimentón to eggs. Pour eggs into skillet with vegetables and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, just until soft and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Top with bread cubes and serve in the skillet, or transfer eggs to large serving bowl, topping with bread cubes, and serve immediately.

This would also make a great breakfast or brunch dish.

* I used my friend Paul Bertolli's Fra'Mani Chorizo Pork Sausage.

Mexican Infusion

Traveling, to me, is all about absorbing everything around me, from the scents to the tastes to the sounds and the textures, even the feeling of the air and the angle of the sun. Obviously the food is a big part of that, and I'll come home craving the flavors of the place, almost as if they've insinuated themselves into my physical makeup. Toasted sesame oil and fish sauce were the ones that stuck with me from Korea, seaweed and miso from Japan, choucroute from Alsace.

This morning we woke up with a yen for chilaquiles like those we had at Playa Bruja in Mazatlan, eggs scrambled with pieces of fried tortilla. Though we didn't have a red chile sauce to top them, there were corn tortillas in the freezer, and the makings for pico de gallo on hand. With no view of the ocean or the sound of the waves crashing on the beach to accompany the meal, they still managed to bring back, even if only fleetingly, the feeling of the place.

Chilaquiles

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
4 tortillas, sliced into strips
1/4 onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeds removed and flesh minced
1 tomato, seeded and chopped fine
8 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
Salsa or red chile sauce, optional

Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in frying pan and add tortilla strips a few at a time, browning slightly and removing to paper towels to drain. Break eggs in bowl and beat to combine. In a clean frying pan heat one tablespoon oil, add onion, garlic and pepper and saute till tender. Add tomatoes, eggs and fried tortilla strips and cook till eggs are set. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with chile sauce or salsa.