Okay, so maybe this recipe isn’t exactly what Dr. Seuss had in mind when he penned Green Eggs and Ham 50 years ago this year. What’s that? You don’t recall the exact rhyme? Perhaps you’ll remember the namesake recipe that Carla made a few seasons ago on Top Chef.–Renee Schettler Rossi
LC You May Like Them Note
Chef Carla Hall’s take on this childhood classic is not fried or boiled, not poached or broiled, not soft or scrambled. You may like them. You will see. Whether here or there, in a box, with a fox, in the rain, on a train, or anywhere.
Carla’s Green Eggs and Ham Recipe
Ingredients
- For the jalapeno oil
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 jalapeno chile, roasted, peeled, and seeded
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- For the avocado salsa
- 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
- 1 green tomato, seeded and diced
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 small bunch of chives, minced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- For the green eggs and ham
- Canola oil, for cooking
- 1/2 pound country or other cooked ham, diced
- 1/2 cup spinach leaves, cut into chiffonade
- 4 large eggs
- 4 sort-of thick slices bread, preferably brioche or challah
- Butter
Directions
- Make the jalapeno oil
- 1. Blend the parsley, 1/4 of the roasted jalapeno, and the olive oil in a food processor or blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dip a spoon in the oil and take a taste. If desired, add more of the roasted jalapeno to suite your taste and blend again.
- Make the avocado salsa
- 2. Combine the avocado, tomato, diced jalapeno, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon of the chives. Season with salt and pepper.
- Make the green eggs and ham
- 3. In a large sauté pan, heat a little canola oil over medium heat and cook the ham until crisp at the edges. Transfer to paper towels to drain and sprinkle with the chives. Wipe the oil from the skillet.
- 4. In a bowl, combine the spinach and 2 egg whites. Whisk in the remaining 2 egg whites until combined. Heat a little more canola oil in the pan used to cook the ham. Pour the spinach mixture into the pan and gently spoon the egg yolks into the whites, spacing them as the pan allows. Cover and cook until the whites are set, about 4 minutes.
- 5. Meanwhile, toast the bread and spread with butter.
- 6. To serve, top each slice of toast with a wedge of green egg, add some of the avocado salsa and some ham, and then drizzle with jalapeno oil. Eat them! Eat them! Here they are!
Hungry for more? Chow down on these:
- Baked Egg Breakfast Casserole with Mushrooms, Spinach & Salsa from Cookin' Canuck
- Zucchini, Goat Cheese and Basil Frittata from The Perfect Pantry
- Fried Potatoes and Eggs from Leite's Culinaria
- Grilled Asparagus, Prosciutto, Fried Bread, and Poached Egg from Leite's Culinaria
Carla’s Green Eggs and Ham Recipe © 2009 Creators of Top Chef. Photo © 2009 Antonis Achilleos. All rights reserved.
[Leanne Abe] Green eggs and ham is a fun recipe, but more importantly, it’s a delicious one. The jalapeno oil is bright and fresh, as is the avocado salsa. It all comes together pretty quickly, even with making the oil and salsa. Using quail yolks is very “Top Chef-y,” but I’m glad that separating regular chicken eggs works just as well (what would you do with quail egg whites and chicken egg yolks?). Whisking the spinach with the egg whites was fun, although next time I might blend them for a greener color.
[Pat F.] I was a little skeptical of this recipe starting out, but once on the plate, it looked beautiful and the flavors and textures all came together. It was hot and salty, crispy and moist, flecked with vivid green and dotted with bright yellow yolks. Next time, I’ll tweak the recipe a little more to our personal tastes. Some bites of the meal were too spicy for us, so in the future, I’ll scale the amount of jalapeños used to the amount of heat we want. I’ll also find a type of ham that’s less salty than country ham—while it was good, its saltiness was a bit overwhelming.
[Brenda Carleton] If you want something fun and almost flamboyant for breakfast, this is it. There are several yummy things going on in this dish, from the gorgeous parsley jalapeno oil, to the buttery avocado salsa and the spinach-y eggs. Our spinach is growing rampant, so the timing of this was perfect. The recipe only requires a teeny bit more effort than other similar egg dishes, but it’s well worth it. I loved it on a gluten-free English muffin. I’m attracted to interesting and unique recipes, and this one was a pleasure.
The accompanying Seussian touches makes the dish, Renee!
I just couldn’t resist, Donna. Although of course the dish merits attention with or without the added whimsy…but very heartened to hear it helped woo you.
This sounds outstanding. I just may make this on Sunday. I want some right now, and I just ate dinner.