Fried eggs tucked into little nests made of shredded salami - they're a fun project for kids and tasty for the whole family to eat. (Skip to recipe.)
Cooking with kids is such fun.
Now that my kids are grown up (almost), our cooking together is different. We still have great times in the kitchen, but it often involves lots of laughter, and grown-up jokes, gossip, and sometimes deep conversations. A glass of wine is occasionally also included.
Since I miss the fun of cooking with younger kids, too, I've resorted to borrowing friends' kids to cook with. Meet Meridith - my new cooking buddy. She's almost eight, and she's keen and eager to get her hands dirty in the kitchen.
Join us in our 'Kitchen Kids' culinary adventures as we cook foods that are fun and easy for kids to prepare (sometimes with an adult's help).
Cooking With Meredith: Fried Eggs in Salami Nests
For our first cooking adventure we cooked our way through a whole bunch of projects - Meredith helped me make and roll a batch of Breakfast Balls, we whizzed up a pitcher of cashew milk, a gingerbread dough boy smoothie, and then we made a breakfast-for-supper meal of pancakes and Fried Eggs in Salami Nests.
Eggs belong in nests, don't they? And when the nests are as tasty as these, you'll want to go egg-hunting, too. Salty, spicy salami shards are the perfect foil for a soft, perfectly fried egg - a great change from bacon, and easy to make.
Make just one Egg in a Salami Nest for an individual breakfast, or whip up a whole bunch of them for a brunch gathering.
Meredith had fun slicing the salami and cracking the eggs. Then we all had fun eating the Eggs in Salami Nests with pancakes, for a breakfast-for-supper meal.
I made the eggs again for lunch a few days ago, and we ate them with orange and avocado wedges and toast. They were a hit with the whole family.
* * * * *
Fried Eggs in Salami Nests
Skills practiced: knife skills, breaking eggs
For each nest:
- 3 very thin slices salami (20gms)
- 1 egg
- a grinding of pepper (optional)
- 1 tablespoon of water per skillet
- 1 skillet (frying pan) with a lid that fits, or a lid from another pot that fits over the skillet, even if it's a bit bigger than the skillet. If you don't have a big enough lid, you could use a plate, but you need to be careful not to break it or burn yourself.
You can make up to 4 nests at a time in a large 12-inch skillet, or up to 3 nests in a smaller 9-inch skillet.
Stack the 3 salami slices on top of each other. Hold the slices down with one hand, bending your fingers inward so your knuckles stick forward. Using the knife with your other hand, slice through the salami slices so that your knuckles brush the side of the knife, but the sharp part can't cut your fingers.
Slice the salami into thin slices, about ⅛ inch (.25cm) thick - that's as thick as pieces of straw, like in a nest.
Drop the salami shreds into a skillet (frying pan) and put it on the stove burner turned up to medium heat.
Fry the salami shreds, stirring them often with a wooden spoon, until the edges of some of them start to turn light brown and some of them are starting to get crispy.
With the wooden spoon, push the salami shreds into rounded nest shapes, with empty centers, for however many nests you are making. Make sure the nests aren't touching each other.
Now, carefully smack an egg against the top of the counter so there is a circle of broken shell. Hold the egg over one of the salami nests. Push your two thumbs into the cracked spot and pull the two halves of the egg apart, gently sliding the egg into the middle of the salami nest. Do that for each nest.
Put one tablespoon of water into the pan, dropping it somewhere beside the nests, not on them. The water will turn to steam and help to cook the top of the egg whites, so you don't have to turn the eggs over.
Quickly cover the skillet with the lid, turn the heat down to medium-low, and set the timer or watch the clock. It will take about 4 to 5 minutes for medium soft eggs, and 6 to 7 minutes for hard eggs. It depends how hot your burner is.
While the eggs are cooking, you can make some toast to go with them.
Don't lift the lid to peek until 4 minutes are up. Then look quickly so not too much steam escapes. If the tops of the egg yolks aren't clear and yellow anymore, and have turned a milky white, the eggs are ready for 'soft' eggs. If you want them hard, let them cook a bit longer. You can lift the lid and check them about every minute or so to see if they are hard enough. Touch the top of the egg gently with a wooden spoon or spatula to see how hard it is.
Slide a spatula under the eggs in their nests and put the nest onto your plate or a slice of toast.
Guten Appetit!
See other 'Cooking With Kids' posts here.
Want to receive new Kitchen Frau recipes directly to your email? Sign up here and you’ll get a handy and useful kitchen tip along with each recipe, too. (No spam ever.)
If you like my recipes, follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook. You’d make my day!
You might also like:
Rollpfannkuchen is Just Another Name for Crepes
Pancakes, the Thick Fluffy Kind
Yogurt, Honey, and Walnuts - Beautiful Breakfast Simplicity
Leave a Reply