Eggs in creamed spinach with spiced butter seeds recipe

This is a particularly good egg dish to make if you've just a little cream or crème fraîche left over in the fridge from another recipe, said Ed Smith. But it's not just a convenient way of avoiding food waste: you'll want to lick the plate clean.

Ingredients

• 250g baby spinach 
• 5-10g butter 
• 1 shallot, very finely diced 
• 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
• pinch of flaky sea salt 
• generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg 
• generous pinch of ground black pepper 
• 100ml double cream (or crème fraîche) 
• 20g parmesan, finely grated
• 2 eggs 
• bread, toast or potato farls, for mopping up

For the seeds:

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• 2 tbsp mixed seeds 
• 30g butter 
• ¼ tsp sweet smoked paprika
• ¼ tsp pul biber (Aleppo pepper flakes)

Method

• Set a 26cm sauté pan or shallow casserole with a lid over a medium heat. Add the spinach and cook for around 6 minutes, prodding and turning occasionally so the leaves wilt evenly.
• Push the wilted spinach to one side of the pan. Add the butter into the empty space, then add the shallot, garlic and a pinch of salt. Sauté for 3 minutes without colouring, then stir the spinach into the middle. Add a really generous grating of nutmeg and black pepper, then add the cream (or crème fraîche) and parmesan.
• Give it a good stir, then create 2 wells within the bubbling spinach. Crack the eggs into these, reduce the heat a little, cover and cook for 2-2½ minutes until the whites are set. Remove from the heat. If the whites aren't firm by this point, keep the pan off the hob, but return the lid and check again after 30-60 seconds.
• Meanwhile, toast the seeds for 2-3 minutes in a dry pan set over a medium heat until there's a hint of colour and the smaller seeds begin to pop. Create a space in the middle of the seeds, add the butter and let that foam and brown for 1-2 minutes more. Once it smells nutty, remove from the heat and add the spices. Spoon over the baked eggs.
• Divide between two shallow bowls and serve with something soft on the side – bread or toast, of course, but also potato farls, which are particularly good with creamy greens and molten yolk.
• Consider... using large-leaf spinach or chard instead. Finely chop the stems and sauté in oil for 1-2 minutes before adding the chopped leaves.

Taken from Good Eggs: Over 100 Cracking Ways to Cook and Elevate Eggs by Ed Smith, published by Quadrille at £22. Photography by Sam A. Harris. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £17.99, call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.

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