Baked eggs with kimchi and sausage

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On a recent trip to NYC I had this yummy appetizer of baked eggs in a tomato-peppery sauce with spicy kimchi. It was so delicious and reminded me of a Bulgarian favorite dish called giuvedje, which is a baked egg in tomato sauce and feta cheese (and sometimes spicy salami). In Bulgarian giuvedje (let’s be fair, I am not expecting you to pronounce that) refers to the dish in which the meal is prepared. It is a small clay pot with a lid which allows the goodies inside to simmer, cook faster and retain the juices. It makes a hearty lunch or an appetizer.

Back to Minnesota, inspired and with a suitcase stuffed with baking dishes from a lovely store in NYC, I was all ready to bake this favorite meal. I couldn’t find dishes with lids, but the ones I got worked pretty well with some foil on the top.

So, may I present to you baked eggs done in two ways - one with roasted peppers and kimchi (for all of you adventurous vegetarians) and the other one with roasted peppers, mild fresh Italian sausage and goat cheese.

Feel free to mix, add, subtract and make these as yummy as you wish, just remember that the tomato sauce and the eggs are the important ingredients.

Baked eggs with kimchi and sausage

Serves 4 (2 of each)

Ingredients:
• 2 cups (14 oz. can) whole peeled tomatoes, crushed
• 1/2 cup roasted red/yellow peppers, chopped
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley (optional)
• salt and pepper

For the kimchi version:
• 1/2 cup kimchi, roughly chopped

For the sausage version:
• 1 mild raw Italian sausage (about 1/4 lb.)
• 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Meanwhile, heat the oil over medium-high in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the onion and sauté until soft for about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Remove the casing from the sausage, tear the meat into 1/2 inch chunks and sauté in a non-stick pan with a splash of oil until fully cooked (about 2 minutes). Place on a plate and set aside.

Mix the crushed tomatoes, chopped peppers and sautéed onions in a bowl, and add salt and pepper to taste. Divide the mixture among 4 oiled 10-oz. bowls/ramekins. Top 2 of the ramekins with the kimchi and the remaining 2 with the sausage.

Cover each ramekin with foil, make a small slit on top of each foil (to allow steam to escape), place the ramekins on a baking tray, and bake for 15-20 minutes (until fragrant and bubbly).

Carefully remove the tray with the ramekins, top the 2 sausage ones with the remaining goat cheese and crack an egg on each dish. Place the foil back on the dishes (creating a slight dome with the foil so the eggs don’t stick to it). Turn the oven off and return the ramekins back to the oven. Leave them in the hot oven for 10 more minutes.

Top with chopped parsley and black pepper, and enjoy with crusty bread or toast.

Thai lemongrass coconut soup

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As a kid growing up in Bulgaria I didn’t have much food-related cultural experiences. The most adventurous my family ever got was eating dumplings and red cabbage in some sort of a sweet sauce (and we all didn’t like it) on a trip to Eastern Germany. In the years to come, as the country changed, our eating habits changed too. As the country opened its doors to new things, some of the first to open restaurants in Bulgaria were the Chinese. Eating Chinese food to me was like a trip to a foreign land – so exotics and delicious that I would have had it every day if I could.

As I moved to the United States in my early twenties, I got exposed to so many different and exciting cuisines and life experiences. I was blown away how a simple thing as a carrot could be cooked in so many ways, with so many different spices and depending on the type of cuisine it could taste totally different. 

Quickly, Thai food became my new favorite cuisine. There is something so fresh and flavorful in the way the food is prepared; the use of lime, cilantro, lemongrass, coconut milk and all the fresh veggies. It is like a sunny summer day for the taste buds. I love it. 

I had always had Thai food at restaurants and I was too afraid to prepare it myself. One day, however, I decided to challenge myself with a very basic recipe for Thai coconut soup. This soup became a favorite of mine and I have modified and improved the recipe over time to match my taste. 

What I love about this particular recipe is that the base is not sweet, but rather fresh and citrusy. It is a versatile base and all the veggies can be substituted with different ones. It could be vegetarian or non-vegetarian, which makes this soup very adaptable. It is a favorite of mine, I hope you love it too.   

Thai lemongrass coconut soup

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
• 1 can coconut milk
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 lemongrass stalks, each cut in 4 pieces
• 4 kaffir lime leaves (if available at your market, if not you can substitute for 1/2 lime)
• ½ medium size ginger root, grated
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced in 1-inch long strips
• 1 yellow pepper, sliced in 1-inch long strips
• 2 medium size tomatoes, chopped in 1-inch pieces
• 1 lime
• 1 teaspoon yellow curry powder or paste
• cilantro leaves
• 2 tablespoons oil

• 1 lb mahi-mahi fish, sliced thinly (optional)
or
• 2 lbs boneless chicken breast. sliced thinly (optional)

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large pot, add the peppers and onions, and lower the heat to medium-high. Sauté for 2 minutes stirring frequently. Add the curry paste/powder, tomatoes and garlic and sauté for an additional minute. Add the coconut milk, chicken stock, lemongrass, ginger, kaffir lime leaves and ¼ of a lime. Stir gently. Bring the soup to a boil, then set the heat on low and simmer for 15 minutes stirring from time to time. 

2. If using chicken, toss the chicken into the soup and simmer until the chicken is cooked through.

If using fish, add the fish and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the fish is soft and tender (be careful to not overcook; fish can easily become tough and chewy if cooked for a long time).

3. Remove the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves from the soup and serve with fresh cilantro leaves, lime wedges and steamed rice.

Basic steamed rice recipe:

The rice-to-water ratio is 1:1 1/3. Knowing this you can increase the rice and water amount based on the number of servings.

Makes about 4 cups of rice:
• 1 cup white long rice
• 1 1/3 cups water

Place the rice in a medium sized pot and rinse it over running water about 4-5 times. Add the water. Bring to boil, set the heat to medium-high, and cook for 5 minutes, making sure the water is not boiling over. Set the heat to low and steam for additional 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and fluff with a fork.

Trout with citrus vinaigrette and chorizo kale

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I have always wanted a cast iron skillet and I finally got one for Christmas. I have been making very simple dishes in it, so that I can get the hang of the skillet, but also because I have a very small and temperamental stove and I never know in what kind of a mood it is going to be when I decide to cook something more elaborate.

After about a month I felt like both the skillet and I were ready to venture out of the eggs and the side dishes. I have been a big fan of Bon Appetit Magazine, I get every issue in my mail box, and I admire the passion and the dedication of the group of people who put each issue together. I went through the pile of issues that I had collected and I picked 2 recipes with which I wanted to test my cast iron skillet.

The most amazing thing about cast iron skillets is that they heat evenly, they retain heat very well and you get the tasty brown flavorful bits when deglazing the pan. For that reason I picked a recipe for a pan seared fish with warm orange/citrus vinaigrette (which I modified a bit by switching the black bass for a whole trout and added Meyer lemons to the vinaigrette). This recipe and the skillet allowed me to cook the whole fish evenly and to collect the tasty pieces left in the pan by deglazing it with the vinaigrette.

If you don’t have a cast iron skillet that is totally fine. Just use a non-sticking pan.

NOTE: Do not get afraid - you will probably set the fire alarm off several times while cooking the fish, but it is totally worth it.

Trout with citrus vinaigrette and chorizo kale

Serves 2

Modified recipes from Bon Appetit Magazine,
published in Oct. 2012 and Feb. 2014

Ingredients:

For the trout and the vinaigrette:
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 whole trout, cleaned and spine removed
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup of Kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
• oranges, juiced
• 1 Meyer lemon, juiced
• 3-4 sprigs of thyme
• Coarsely ground salt and pepper

For the kale and chorizo:
• 2  tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 oz. cured Spanish chorizo, casing removed and sliced into thin rounds
• 2 medium shallots, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• bunch kale (e.g. dragon kale), center ribs and stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped 
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2  cup water
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the chorizo and cook until lightly rendered (but not crisp) and the oil turns bright red, about 3 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and place on a plate. Add shallots in the same pan (keeping the oil from the chorizo). Cook stirring occasionally until shallots are translucent, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add kale and cook until it begins to wilt, about 3 minutes. Add back the chorizo and pour in the wine and the water. Cover partially and reduce heat to low. Simmer gently until the kale is tender, 15–20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, season the trout with salt and pepper on the inside and outside. Place the sprigs of thyme inside the cavity of the fish. Heat the remaining oil in a large cast iron or a non-stick skillet over high heat. Lower the heat to medium-high, place the fish and cook for about 5 minutes or until the skin is golden brown. Turn the fish and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and olives to the skillet. Cook for about a minute. Add the orange and lemon juice and swirl to deglaze. Cook for another minute while spooning some of the warm vinaigrette over the fish.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and discard the thyme. To remove the fillets, run a sharp knife along the spine of the fish. Using a spatula, remove the first fillet and place on a plate. Flip the fish and remove the second fillet. Place each fillet on a plate and spoon the warm vinaigrette over each one. Serve with a side of kale with chorizo.

Bon appetit!

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How to filet a cooked fish
If your local fish market does not remove the spine of the fish for you prior to cooking it, you can do it after it is cooked. The cooked meat makes the removing of the spine and the small bones (and trout has a lot of them) very easy. 

See the images and steps below.

These 2 images are courtesy of Bon Appeit Magazine:

Run a sharp knife along the head, spine and tail of the fish to carve out the first fillet.

Remove the fillet to expose the spine. Pick the spine with your fingers and lift it off the meat. Discard the spine/bones and remove the tail and the head.