smashed eggplant toast with crispy eggs

The one obstacle that can keep even the most frugal New Yorkers out of their kitchens isn't the lack of space; it's the prospect of cooking for one.


Between shopping, prepping, and cooking, only to have leftovers that mold before they're tossed, eating out or ordering in is often the more appealing choice. Especially when there's a perfectly decent by-the-slice joint right outside your door.

And it's not that professional chefs fare any better. Once when I was at Betony, I mentioned that I really needed to go grocery shopping and my sous chef looked at me like I was crazy. "What's grocery shopping? All I have at home are nuts and dried fruit." I really meant that I needed to restock said nuts and dried fruit, to which my sous chef said, "Yeah, it's called Duane Reade" (ubiquitous NY drugstore, the only thing open in Midtown West at 2am). And nuts and dried fruits are on the fancy end of the spectrum. The more usual suspects in a chef's fridge are a bottle of Sriracha, a Brita filter and some sort of booze. Just ask Kristin Kish.



This is why I'm sharing a simple but impressively impressive meal with you today, which guarantees no leftovers. Or even leftover ingredients, if you should so desire. You tell me if this sounds just as good as pizza*, if not better:

There's thick slabs of crusty, toasted bread, rubbed with garlic and sprinkled with sea salt before enjoying a salty shower of freshly grated Pecorino.

Next is creamy, smoky, slightly sweet eggplant, caramelized and broken down with onion and garlic until a mere rubber spatula can smear it against the bottom of the pan.

And the eggs - do they ever run out of tricks? - dropped into screaming hot oil, are crispy, custardy and silky all at once. The resulting deep-brown crust is so sturdy you could even eat these barehanded like a cracker if you wanted to. This miracle takes place in no longer than 1 minute and will become your new favorite way to eat eggs (if there were such a thing).



It's a dinner that would be perfectly at home on a trendy restaurant menu for $12. Which is ridiculous, because it costs all of $5 and 30 minutes to make. (Even if you have to buy the cheese, Pecorino Romano - tangier cousin of Parmigiano Reggiano - is great in cooking for one because it keeps well and is affordable. I've been using a $5 block of Pecorino for the last month.)

Furthermore, these toasts - or tartines, if you want to get fancy - are destined for no more than one or two. One, because you have to make some pretty unattractive faces to get a proper bite. Two, because if you're ok enough with someone to make and eat dinner alone together, you're probably ok with the faces, too.

* There is absolutely nothing wrong with pizza, though. I'm saying this as I eat a slice.

** Are you a fan of cookies? What about free cookies? If so, click here. **



Smashed Eggplant Toast with Crispy Eggs
Recipe by Out of Thyme

Yield: 1 serving  |   Prep Time: 5 minutes  |   Cook Time: 30 minutes  |  Total Time: 40 minutes

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium eggplant, diced into 1/2-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
3 garlic cloves
1 small onion, finely diced (about 1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Two 1/2-inch slices of good-quality, crusty bread (I used a whole-wheat sourdough boule)
Pinch of coarse smoked sea salt
1/4 cup grapeseed or canola oil
2 large eggs
Pecorino Romano cheese, for serving
Freshly ground black pepper, for serving

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the eggplant. Let them sit undisturbed in a single layer until nicely seared on one side, about 2 minutes. Flip them over with a rubber spatula and repeat for 2 more minutes. Finely mince 2 cloves of garlic, turn the heat down to medium and add the onions and garlic to the pan. Add the salt and crushed red pepper and give everything a stir. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions and eggplants have darkened in color and are soft enough to break apart with a rubber spatula, about 20 minutes. Finish with the lemon juice and taste for seasoning.

While the eggplant is cooking, lay the two slices of bread on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper and drizzle both sides with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Toast in the oven until lightly golden-brown, about 5 minutes on each side. Rub the remaining garlic clove over both sides of the hot toast and sprinkle with the smoked sea salt. Grate a generous amount of Pecorino over the tops. Once the eggplant is done, divide it on top of the two pieces of toast.

Heat the grapeseed oil in a 6-inch saute-pan over the highest heat. When smoke is just starting to come off the oil, carefully drop the eggs into the oil one after the other - they should bubble up and start to crisp immediately. When the bottoms have completely crisped and the whites are no longer translucent, cover the pan for about 20 seconds, just to help set any remaining whites. Carefully remove the eggs onto the toasts with a wide metal spatula. Finish with more sea salt and a few cracks of black pepper.

Note: When shopping, choose an eggplant with smooth, shiny skin that feels firm and heavy for its size. Remaining bread can be sliced, wrapped tightly in plastic and kept in the freezer for up to a month.

Serving suggestion: Top with a generous salad of arugula in a simple lemon vinaigrette (2 parts olive oil to one part lemon juice with a generous pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper).