Baked eggs in bread bowls with cheese and asparagus

An elegant brunch dish that is as delicious to eat as it is beautiful to look at.

The classic combination of bread, eggs, cheese, asparagus and white truffle oil makes an appetizing presentation that is simply addicting.

Baked eggs in bread bowls with cheese and asparagus

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• Cooking spray
• 1 crusty dinner roll or Kaiser roll, cut in half
• 2 eggs
• 8 asparagus spears
• 2 tablespoons manchego cheese (cheddar, fontina, Brie, Parmesan and Swiss cheeses will work too)
• 1/2 teaspoon white truffle oil

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Slice your roll in half horizontally and dig out some of the bread to create a bowl. If bread bowl is not able to sit upright, slice a tiny bit of bread off the bottom to make it level as you do not want the egg yolk to slip off.
3. Spray your ramekins well with cooking spray.
4. Place the bread bowls into the ramekin and top evenly with cheese.
5. Place ramekins with bread and cheese in the oven for five or six minutes, until the cheese is slightly melted.
6. Remove ramekins from the oven and carefully crack one egg into each bread bowl. Do not break the yolk and make sure the yolk does not slip off the top of the bread.
7. Carefully place ramekins back into the oven until the egg whites are cooked and the yolk is to your liking, about 15 to 20 minutes for a runnier yolk, 20 to 25 minutes for a yolk similar to that of a hard-boiled egg.
8. Cut asparagus spears in half, reserving only the top halves. For the last seven minutes that the eggs are cooking, place the asparagus in a pan with just a touch of water and cook in the oven, until tender but not mushy.
9. Remove baked eggs and asparagus from the oven.
10. Using an oven mitt, remove baked eggs from the hot ramekin with a spoon and plate. Place four asparagus spears on top of each egg and drizzle with one-quarter teaspoon white truffle oil per baked egg. Add shaved or grated cheese if desired.

Note: Cook time depends on how you prefer the consistency of your egg yolk. If you plan to plate it and serve with a knife and a fork, you may desire a runny yolk. If you would like to serve them as hors d’oeuvres, you’ll want your yolk like that of a hard-boiled egg.

Here I used small crusty dinner rolls. If you want to make them larger, a round Kaiser roll would work perfectly! Thin asparagus works best in this dish, but thick asparagus is fine too… you may just want to chop it a bit; it all depends on how you want it to look!

More egg recipes

Bacon and egg toast cups
Breakfast quesadillas
Egg salad three ways