Huevos Arriba

Since David will be starting graduate school in Spain for a year, I have decided to try some classic Spanish recipes with a few adaptations. Spain is legendary for the thousands of egg (huevos) dishes, so I started with a less common, but beautiful egg dish.

Huevos Arriba is a "puffed egg" dish, in that the yolk and white of the egg are used separately. Basically, seasoned, beaten egg whites are piled on to slices of lightly toasted bread. A well is made in the whites and a yolk is placed on each well. After 15-20 minutes of baking, you have a beautiful presentation.

Ingredients:
For the eggs:
4 eggs, separated (be careful not to break the yolks)
4 slices good quality firm bread (we used Portuguese Saliol, but any good quality Italian bread will suffice - each slice should be 4"x5" (length/width) and no more than 1" thick)
1/2 cup finely diced or shredded cheese (such as manchego, gruyere or asiago)
1/4 cut finely chopped olives (I used a combination of green and kalamata marinated in garlic, olive oil, and parsley)
1/4 cup finely chopped pimiento (roasted red peppers preserved in oil)
small amount of butter or margarine


For the garnish
1 small shallot, chopped fine
1 1/2 - 2 cups chopped mushrooms (1/4"-1/2" pieces)
6-8 small pieces of pimiento
2 tbs butter
1/8 cup olive oil
salt
ground pepper
1/2 garlic clove (finely minced or use a press)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter one side of the bread and place on a jellyroll pan, butter-side up. Once oven temperature is reached, place bread in for 1 minute. Beat the egg whites into hard peaks. Gently fold in the cheese, olives, and pimiento. Place 1/4 of the mixture on each slice of bread, building a mound. Using a spoon, make a well in the center of each mound and carefully place one egg yolk in the mound. When finished return the slices to the oven for at least 15-20 minutes or until the eggs are soft cooked and the whites are browned. (if you like "well done" eggs, turn the heat down to 300 and bake a bit longer).

While the eggs are cooking, saute the shallots for 2 minutes in the butter and olive oil on medium/medium-high heat. Add the garlic, cook another minute, then add the mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms until they are tender, about 7 minutes.

To serve, spread a small mound of the mushroom mixture on the plate, place a few pimiento pieces on top and then place one or two of the bread/egg slices on the plate.

The garnish, bread, and egg white/yolk create a ravashing mixture of textures and layers of flavor. If you guest are not eating with their eyes closed, then check their pulse! David claims this is the best breakfast dish I've ever made. How I will top this remains to be seen.

Buen Provecho & Buon Appetito!