This European Bird in a Nest recipe combines crunchy Italian bread and French seasonings with tangy goat cheese and bacon for a tasty way to start your morning!
I don’t know about you, but I LOVE breakfast!! Eggs, bread, coffee…Yum!
So any new way to cook an egg is a win in my book; especially if it also includes cheese and bacon!
When I was younger, I really didn’t care for eggs. I don’t know why.
We had chickens when I was growing up, and I loved going to the hen house and gathering the eggs. I enjoyed dying hard boiled eggs with all kinds of colors at Easter time. I even enjoyed cracking eggs and separating the yolk and white in baking—but I really didn’t like eating them.
To me, eggs were either over-cooked and completely dry, or they were under-cooked and runny and gross!
Aren’t you glad my taste buds grew up with me. Now I enjoy trying new egg recipes.
This easy recipe combines the tangy goodness of goat cheese and crumbled bacon with a wonderful blend of seasonings served with an egg.
Did I mention it also includes a slice of toasted Italian bread?! And for the vegetable lovers out there, I even add a bed of slightly sautéed spinach for the base of this yummy dish.
It’s cleverly called a ‘Bird in the Nest’ because you plop the egg ‘bird’ right in the middle of the bread that is then toasted to a golden brown ‘nest”.
Here’s how you do it.
Cook some bacon strips in a pan.
While the bacon is cooking, saute some spinach leaves and put them on your plate.
Cut a hole in the middle of the slice of your Italian bread, creating a place for the ‘bird’. The easiest way is to use a shot glass.
Then you melt butter and olive oil in the skillet or on an electric griddle and put the bread on it. Yes, I said both butter and olive oil, trust me the combination is delicious. Of course, you can use one or the other, but how boring!
Then crack the egg or ‘bird’ over the hole of the ‘nest’, and let it cook.
Keep the bread you cut out and toast it on each side as you are cooking the bird in the nest.
Then you flip the bread and egg, ‘nest and bird’, over and let the other side cook. It is helpful to use two spatulas for this flip.
If you like your egg over easy, then you have to do the next parts quickly, so the egg doesn’t get too done.
Sprinkle the top with crumbled goat cheese, and watch it start to melt into gooey goodness.
Top with bacon that you have crumbled.
Next, sprinkle with the French seasonings to taste! What are the secret French seasonings? This is a blend of Rosemary, Basil and Oregano and it is amazing! You can get these in France, but if you live in the U.S. you won’t find them in your grocery store. You can get them easily shipped to you from Amazon with this link: French Secret South Aromat Knorr-Secret D Aromes Plein Sud
And Voilà! Bird in a Nest.
You will notice that we have two versions of this recipe. This recipe is for ‘Her’ version and is shown on the right. ‘His’ version, shown on the left, includes two slices of bacon instead of one with additional goat cheese and seasonings and no spinach (my husband is not a fan). You can decide how you like it.
He says that this bird in the nest recipe will change your life! It won’t change your life, but it might just change your breakfast life!
If you want more eggs, just make another hole and use two eggs for a Birds in a Nest recipe!
So, are you hungry yet?
What a delicious way to start your day! Bon Apétit!
Here’s the Recipe!
European Bird in a Nest Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon butter
- 1½ cups raw spinach - loose leafed
- 1 slice Italian bread
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese
- 1 slice bacon - cooked and crumbled
- Knorr Secret d’Aromes seasoning to taste
Instructions
- With a round cutter, approximately 2 inches in diameter, cut a hole in the center of your slice of bread. (This can be done using a knife, a shot glass, or a cookie cutter.)
- Cook and crumble as many slices of bacon as desired.
- Heat on medium ½ teaspoon of olive oil in a skillet and then add the spinach leaves.
- Sauté the spinach leaves for about 1 minute, till just glistening. Remove from heat and arrange in a thin layer on your plate to create a bed for the nest.
- Add the remaining ½ teaspoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon of butter to the skillet and heat on medium until sizzling.
- Place the slice of bread and the round piece you cut out in the skillet to toast.
- Immediately, break the egg over the hole in the slice of bread and let the yolk drop right into the hole and the remaining white can be dropped around the top side of the toast around the hole.
- Let it cook for one to two minutes, checking the underside until it is lightly browned (toasted).
- With a large spatula, carefully flip the slice of bread and egg completely over to cook the other side. (Don’t worry if the egg gets a little messy, as I tell my kids, “It still eats the same!”)
- Also, flip the small round piece of bread to toast the other side as well.
- Let the underside cook for one to two minutes (depending on how runny, or firm, you prefer your yolk to be.)
- While it's cooking, sprinkle the crumbled goat cheese and bacon all over the top.
- Shake the seasonings all over the top of the bread to taste.
- Remove from heat, and carefully plate your “Nest” on the sautéed spinach. It’s ready to eat!
NOTES
Nutrition
