Nothing says love like a heart-shape egg... Placed ever so gently onto a heap of potatoes, caramelized onion, and swiss chard. Sprinkled with a bit of cheddar and microbroccoli. Okay, maybe love isn't quite the sentiment being conveyed.
But definitely whimsy. Like full on, shouting from a megaphone style whimsy.
Which is why I totally adore Valentine's Day. I abhor the complaints about how Valentines Day is a made up holiday by Hallmark and such.
Okay 1) It has been around way longer than Hallmark has existed. 2) There are few other days on the calendar where you can break out the heart shape cookie cutters, egg shapers, and dye food vibrant hues of red and pink with such wild reckless abandon. 3) I hate to get all ad hominem, but I'm going to anyway. You have no soul. Like saying, "I don't get it," while watching the Puppy Bowl with its super adorable kitten half time show (you know who you are) soulless.
Love is good. Pink is good. Red velvet is good. Hearts are good. Fun and festivity and whimsy, especially in the midst of post-holiday malaise, are all good things.
Hurtling through this existence and not eating a heart-shaped egg is bad.
I had some things in the fridge that needed to be used up, so I adapted this recipe from Cooking Light with what we had on hand. And of course, I lack the capability of turning a poached egg into a heart shape. So I fried them instead.
Ingredients
1 sweet potato, diced
1 russet potato, diced
extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
fresh thyme sprigs
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 strips crisped turkey bacon
3 cups thinly sliced swiss chard
1 cup spinach leaves
1/2 cup caramelized onions
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon truffle oil
salt
pepper
cayenne
4 eggs
handful of grated extra sharp cheddar
microbroccoli, for serving
Instuctions
Heat oven to 425. In a dutch oven, toss the potatoes with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and paprika. Mix in the garlic. Throw in the sprigs of fresh thyme. Roast for about 20 minutes, or until crispy. Feel free to do everything on the stove, though, like in the original recipe. I did it like this to free up my time for the rest of the prep. In the meantime, crisp up the bacon.
Once the potatoes are done, take out of the oven and place the dutch oven on the stove. If you need to deglaze the pan, throw in a splash of white wine or even some rice wine. Over medium heat, add a bit of olive oil, then the swiss chard and spinach. Cook for about 4 minutes, until tender. Be sure to stir frequently. Add in the caramelized onions, vinegar, oil, and seasonings.
For the fried egg: Melt butter in skillet on medium heat. To get the heart-shaped egg, we cracked the eggs into Norpro Nonstick Heart and Pancake Egg Rings, then continued to fry just until egg white is cooked, or sunny-side up, roughly 1 minute. You could also fry the egg normally and cut the egg into a heart shape.
Serve hash with a heart-shaped egg, a sprinkling of cheddar, and a sprinkling of microbroccoli.
