These Turkish Eggs with Asparagus are the perfect weekend brunch. It might sound like an odd combination, but once you’ve tried it, you will be hooked. Creamy, lemony with a touch of garlic and a fiery red and nutty butter, topped with a runny poached egg, that invites you to dip your asparagus into it. Add some bread and you have a perfect balance of protein, carbs and veggies, all in one delicious bowl.
A Hungry Brunch
Today I was hungry. Really hungry. I had spent 2 hours unwrapping the lovely black garlic that was in my rice cooker for 40 days, ending up with a little bowl full of liquorice-sweet-garlicy goodness.
You can find some of the recipes it inspired here: Black Garlic Cashew Ranch Dressing and here: Black Garlic Mushroom Salad. Of course, I was nibbling on it while doing my job, but when I was ready, it was well past my usual breakfast time and I was starving, getting to the point of hangry.
The Inspiration
I knew I had some asparagus left in the fridge, a bit of 0% fat Greek yogurt, and some eggs. Homemade sourdough bread and butter are always around in my house, so I had the perfect breakfast idea for a sunny holiday morning, that would transport me to warmer realms, at least in my thoughts: Turkish Eggs with Asparagus.
Now excuse the missing ingredient shot here, if you really want it, I’ll add it next time, but today I was plain too greedy for the whole setup and just urgently wanted brunch. Low and behold, this being just the second time I made Turkish eggs (last time strictly following the recipe of the fabulous Nigella Lawson), the preparation only took me about 20min including taking the photos. Remember, greedy. No time to waste.
My Adaptations for Weight Loss
While the original recipe for Turkish Eggs is fantastic, I made a few changes that don’t change the flavour, but give me a slightly better calorie balance of about 363 calories for the original and only 284 calories for my version, by omitting the olive oil and reducing the butter, but adding added fibre and veggie content with the deliciousness of asparagus, going perfectly with the lemony yoghurt, browned butter and of course eggs.
The Process
Admittedly there are a few pots and pans to juggle for this, but all in all it just takes about 20minutes from start to finish.
You warm the yoghurt over a water bath while the water for the poached eggs is heating up. Throw some butter into another pan, so it’s ready to get nicely browned as soon as the eggs are in. In a pan, quickly heat a few tablespoons of water, to steam your asparagus. Add the seasonings to yoghurt and butter. Salt your asparagus.
For the poaches eggs Nigella shares a nifty trick to get perfect poached eggs every time: Drain the liquidy part of the egg white in a little sieve. Then gently glide them each into their own little cup. Squeeze over a little lemon juice, so the egg white firms up a tiny bit, avoiding it fluffing (is that a word? It feels like the right way to describe what happens) all over the water when you let it glide in. Very gently let them glide into the barely boiling water. Don’t let it bubble. No movement after the eggs are in. Those few steps will give you the perfect poaches eggs you always dreamt of. Maybe a tiny bit of practice. But then, even the results of that practice will be delicious, so it’s certainly no hardship.
While the eggs are poaching, quickly brown your butter and add red pepper to it, for the stunning colour and tiny bit of heat.
Add the yoghurt into your serving bowl, top with eggs, asparagus and browned butter. Serve with crusty sourdough bread. And there you have it: Turkish Eggs with Asparagus. One of the best breakfasts I can think of.
And now I’m ready to get back to giving you pretty ingredient setups for the next recipes, without feeling the need to munch on the raw ingredients before I get to take the pictures.
For more high protein breakfast ideas head over to either the protein menu or just go straight to my Cherry Peach Clafoutis with Protein for a super easy and healthy brekfast.
Or maybe a more surprising source of protein, that will also really impress your guests? Try my Brown Sugar Pavlovas with Pistachio Protein Mousse and Strawberries. “Divine” as a friend who was my guineapig for these pointed out. 😉
Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please share. It helps me a lot. 🙂
Turkish Eggs with Asparagus
Ingredients
- 150 g 0% fat Greek yoghurt
- 50 ml soy milk Other plant milks work too, but pick a creamy one, as it will make up for the 0% fat yoghurt without adding back all the calories. For example: Full fat Cashew would work well, however the standard unsweetened almond is too thin to provide the desired effect
- 1 clove garlic peeled and minced
- Kosher salt to taste about 1 tsp for the yoghurt and ½ for the butter
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 large eggs fridge-cold
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp fresh dill chopped
Instructions
- In a medium-sized metal or glass mixing bowl, that fits into one of your cooking pots over hot water, without touching it, combine the Greek yoghurt, soy milk, minced garlic, and sea salt. Mix well until smooth.
- Crack the fridge-cold eggs one at a time into a small sieve over a cup or the sink, so the liquid part of the egg white can drain. Add each egg to its own small jar or cup. Add a spritz of white wine vinegar or lemon juice to each.
- Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water, put the bowl with the Greek yoghurt mix on top, be careful that it doesn’t touch the water. Gently heat while stirring. The yoghurt should be slowly warmed, but not get hot, so keep an eye on this. Once it’s warm, take off the heat and put to the side. The water will keep it warm until you are ready to eat. Add most of the fresh dill when you are ready to serve.
- Fill another medium saucepan about halfway with water and bring it to boil. Once boiling, start swirling it with a cooking spoon, to create a kind of vortex in the middle. Slide in first one of the eggs, then the other, waiting a moment for each, until the white has wrapped around the yolk. Turn the heat down, so the water doesn’t move and poach for 3-4 minutes. (This is the tricky part, as you don’t see when the yolk is still runny, so it might take a few tries to get it perfect. But even non-perfect poached eggs taste great with this. Don’t give up.)
- Once the eggs are cooked to your liking, take them out very gently with a slotted spoon and slide them on a plate with paper towel to drain, while you prepare the rest of the dish.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add just enough water to cover the bottom. Once it is boiling, add the asparagus spears and steam for about 5-7 minutes until they become tender-crisp. Remove the asparagus from the skillet and set aside.
- In a very small saucepan, add the butter and red pepper flakes. Let it melt while watching it like a hawk, until it becomes lightly browned and fragrant. Add the fresh lemon juice and salt to taste.
- Spoon the prepared Greek yoghurt sauce into a small, deep plate, top with one egg per person (or, if you are very hungry, like me, just eat both yourself), add the asparagus, drizzle with the browned butter.
- Garnish with the remaining fresh dill.
- Serve immediately, accompanied by crusty bread or toast.
Notes
Calories: Approximately 211-222
Fat: Approximately 14-15 grams
Protein: Approximately 14-15 grams
Carbohydrates: Approximately 9-10 grams
Fiber: Approximately 0-1 gram
Sugar: Approximately 6-7 grams
Nutrition
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