Simple, wholesome, and delicious, these calendula baked eggs are perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dinner. Serve with toast or potatoes.
This dish is really simple, delicious, and nutritious. It involves making a rich vegetable stew, reminiscent of shakshuka, then poaching eggs in the bubbling hot stew.
Whether you serve calendula baked eggs for brunch or dinner, it’s an easy way to cook a lot of eggs all at once. I’ve written the recipe to serve 2 people, so feel free to scale up as needed.
Growing Calendula
I realize that not everyone has calendula growing in their garden. Perhaps you don’t have a garden or you live somewhere that is only just getting started with spring flowers? Don’t worry, this dish doesn’t really need the calendula.
However, serving eggs with a sprinkling of orange and yellow flower petals adds a burst of sunshine and summer to an otherwise simple dish.
The only trick to serving edible flowers is that they are not typically sold in grocery stores. And when you do find them at the farmers’ market they are expensive! So if you aren’t growing flowers, simply don’t add them to this dish.
Meanwhile… why not consider growing calendula? It’s particularly easy to grow, even if you don’t have a garden.
- They can grow in a window box or clay pot. Just pinch off the tips to prevent them from getting too tall and lanky.
- Calendula is not really picky and will grow in most soils. It can also grow in a partly shady location.
- They bloom starting in late spring and continue until October (on the west coast).
- You only need to plant them once, because they will either self-seed or resprout from their roots.
- The flowers have a slightly lemony or peppery flavor. And the bright colors are perfect for adding a bit of sunshine to pretty much everything from salads to muffins.
SPRING GREENS BAKED EGGS
Simple, wholesome, and delicious, these calendula baked eggs are perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dinner. Serve with toast or potatoes.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of spring greens like kale, spinach or Swiss chard
- 1/2 yellow onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 tomatoes
- 1/4 tsp of cumin
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt, to taste
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup of calendula petals, optional but recommended!
- 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F (190C).
- Wash and chop the spring greens, dice the onions and garlic and chop the tomatoes.
- Heat a large, ovenproof frying pan on medium heat. Add the cumin and toast until fragrant (about 2 minutes).
- Add the olive oil and yellow onion. Cook for 2 minutes, until the onions start to soften.
- Stir in the chopped tomatoes and garlic. Sprinkle on the salt and smoked paprika. Cook for 5 more minutes.
- Add the greens to the frying pan and cover with a lid until everything is bubbling and the greens are tender, about 5 minutes. There will be quite of bit of liquid in the pan, perfect for poaching eggs. Taste and add more salt as necessary. I find it needs a pinch more than a 1/4 tsp.
- Push the vegetables aside to create 4 wells in the frying pan. Crack an egg into each of the wells. Sprinkle the eggs with a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Decorate with the calendula petals and grated Parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the whites are just set and the yolks are still runny.
- Serve immediately with hashbrown potatoes or a crusty piece of baguette.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 3 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 244Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 255mgSodium: 617mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 6gSugar: 5gProtein: 16g
Check out more spring recipes:
My dinner plans went a bit off the rails so I only made the veggie stew part as a side. Delicious. I’m going to try reheating the leftover veg and adding an egg. Hopefully that will work, too. And I had calendula petals! Thanks, Emillie!
Glad you enjoyed it!