#simplefare

RECIPE: Buttered Eggs (from Simple Fare: Spring/Summer by Karen Mordechai)

This dish, passed down from a friend, is a simple, quick take on a warm egg salad. Look to make your eggs soft and a tad runny—soft enough to mash perfectly. You can also add the same amount of olive oil in place of the butter, if preferred. As with all our recipes, choosing the best-quality ingredients is imperative; we highly recommend a grass-fed butter and farm-fresh eggs. The result is a preparation that you will make over and over.

Serves 1

2 eggs

1 tablespoon salted butter

Cyprus flake salt

2 slices black rye bread* 

1 teaspoon olive oil

Grated Pecorino cheese*

Zest of ½ lemon

Bring a small saucepan of water to boil over high heat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, carefully lower the eggs into the boiling water and cook for 6 to 7 minutes. Gently remove the eggs and run under cold water to peel.

Transfer peeled eggs to a small, shallow bowl and add the butter. Mash with a fork and season with flaky salt.

Meanwhile, heat a grill to high or a grill pan over high heat. Lightly brush the bread with the olive oil and grill for 1 to 2 minutes on each side.

Spread the mashed eggs on the bread and top evenly with the Pecorino and lemon zest. Sprinkle with flaky salt before serving.

Market Variations

To make the market variations, replace the ingredients marked with a * above with the items listed below.

Variation 1: sourdough / manchego

Variation 2: buckwheat / parmesan

Simple Fare: Spring/Summer is a beautifully illustrated cookbook featuring seasonal, market-driven fare that encourages readers to cook simply and intuitively.

Karen Mordechai of the acclaimed Brooklyn-based food community Sunday Suppers shares her meals for cooking at home and her studio. The recipes are designed to excite and inspire, each offering 3 to 5 alternate ingredients that can be used in the same preparation. A smoked beet panzanella with purple kale, radicchio and ricotta, for example, suggests a carrot, mizuna, watercress, and yogurt adaptation or tomato, arugula, purple basil, and burrata, allowing the reader flexibility depending on what is fresh at the market. The food is approachable but decidedly nuanced, balancing unexpected flavor profiles with beautiful presentations. With 68 recipes and 97 variations, Simple Fare is an oversize, distinctively designed kitchen essential of more than 165 seasonal recipes. This book is a valuable resource for avid cooks and beginners alike.