Chef Ryley Eckersley of Portland's Quaintrelle shares three recipes to get you through winter weekends. Click here to find out more about the author of these recipes in our profile on Abbey Road Farm.
BAKED EGGS WITH SAUSAGE, KALE, DELICATA SQUASH, OLIVE, AND BAGUETTE
Serves 4-6
- 1C sausage, whatever kind you prefer
- Half an onion, julienned
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
- Handful of chopped kale
- 1 medium delicata squash, halved, seeded and sliced into thin half moons
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 C cream
- 6 farm eggs
- 1 lemon, juiced
- Provolone cheese, the funkier the better
- 1/2 C Castelvetrano olives, pitted, chopped and in olive oil, with
- 2 T chopped oregano
- 1 baguette
- 1 T butter
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a sizeable cast iron pan (you can also transfer to a baking dish), cook the sausage over medium heat. Once a bit of fat has rendered, add the onions, garlic, kale and squash. Once you have a bit of color, season with salt and pepper, and crank it up to high heat. Add the cream, and reseason with salt and pepper. Using a wooden spoon, make some nests in the vegetable mix for the eggs to cook. Crack open the eggs and place them an inch apart evenly over the dish. They should be submerged; if you need a bit more cream to do so, now is the time. Place in the oven and cook for 5 minutes; pull out and cover with the lemon juice and microplaned provolone cheese. Place back into the oven until the whites have just set, the cream is bubbling and reducing, and the cheese is turning golden, usually about 3 more minutes, depending on the size of the dish. Top with olive “relish” and serve with buttered baguette.
POLENTA WITH SMOKED TROUT, SWEET ONION, AND RAPINI IN POACHED-EGG PAN SAUCE
Serves 2-4
Polenta
- 2 C milk
- 1 C cream
- 1 C water
- Sprig of rosemary
- 1 C polenta
- Salt to taste
- Bring to boil, add polenta and simmer until cooked.
Pan sauce
- 1 C Walla Walla onion, julienned
- 2 cloves garlic
- 6 oz white wine
- 4 oz chicken stock
- 4 oz cream
- 4 dashes Tabasco
- Rapini (blanched and chopped)
- 8 oz smoked trout or salmon
- Juice of a lemon
- Torn basil, parsley, chives
- 1 farm egg
Start with pan over medium heat with some cooking oil of your preference. Add onion and garlic, and sweat them until translucent. Crank to high heat and deglaze pan with wine, then add rest of liquid and let reduce about 40%. Add rapini, fish, lemon juice and herbs. Season until perfect and then spoon onto polenta. Poach an egg and lay gently on top.
BREAD PUDDING FRENCH TOAST GRATIN
Serves 6-8
- 1 T butter to coat mold (nonstick spray is OK here too)
- 1/2 C brandy, booze cooked out
- 1 C cream
- 3 C milk
- 8 farm eggs
- 1/2 C sugar
- 2 T vanilla
- Pinch of salt
- Zest of 2 oranges, juice of 1
- 1 lb day-old bread, preferably baguette of something with chewier crusts
- 2 T butter
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. To make bread slices, whisk all ingredients together and soak bread in mixture for at least an hour, stirring every 20 minutes or so to make sure it's evenly absorbed. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, usually depending on the chosen dish, depth, etc. Once the bread is made, it will keep for a few days in the fridge if desired. When guests arrive, slice bread to a thickness of about ¾ inch. Fry in butter until brown on both sides. Top with your choice of toppings: citrus fruits in maple syrup, chopped hazelnuts, whipped cream and lemon curd.
LEMON CURD
- 1 ½ C sugar
- 4 oz butter
- 4 farm eggs
- ½ C lemon juice
- Pinch of salt
- Zest of 1 grapefruit, 1 orange, 1 lemon
Place all ingredients in a thick-bottomed sauce pan and cook over low heat until 170 degrees, whisking continuously. Add zest and strain through fine mesh strainer. Refrigerate until cool and set.
