Janice Cole raises chickens in her backyard (in St. Paul, Minnesota) and in fact, she has been doing this for about four years. She also writes a blog titled, Three Swingin’ Chicks where she shares her experiences about raising the chickens: Roxanne, Cleo and Lulu. Ruby and Coco Chanel are two new chicks now living in the backyard coop with the older gals.
A talented food editor and recipe developer, Janice posts recipes for using fresh eggs in her blog and she has recently written a cookbook titled, Chicken and Egg by Chronicle Books.
Over the weekend, Jack and I made one of the recipes from the book for breakfast and decided it was a fun, new and delicious twist on fried eggs.
Florentine Fried Eggs Over Roasted Asparagus
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Start to Finish Time: 25 minutes
24 pencil-thin asparagus spears (about 12 oz), trimmed
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 to ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 oz thinly sliced prosciutto, cut in 1/4-inch strips
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 eggs
Dash kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, if desired
Heat oven to broiler setting. Line 15x10x1-inch pan with foil.
Arrange asparagus on half of pan, brush with 1 teaspoon oil; sprinkle with pepper. Toss prosciutto, fluffing it slightly to separate strips; place on other half of pan.
Broil 2 to 4 minutes or until asparagus are crisp-tender and prosciutto is crispy. Remove from oven; cover lightly with foil to keep warm.
In large skillet heat 2 tablespoons oil. Break and slip eggs into skillet. Immediately reduce heat to low. Cook 5 to 7 minutes, spoon oil over eggs, until whites are set and a film forms over the top of the yolks. Sprinkle with salt.
To serve, arrange eggs over asparagus; scatter prosciutto over top. Sprinkle with additional ground pepper, if desired.
4 servings
Tip: Shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese can be sprinkled over the eggs for even more Italian flair.