This past weekend I joined my mom in Austin to watch my sister play in one of her Ultimate Frisbee tournaments. OMG! Do you guys even know how much running that sport involves? Like 90+ straight minutes of running. I almost never watch sports for fun, so it was a mind-boggle to watch those girls relentlessly sprint, turn, lunge, jump and dive for that little white disc, especially in the cold, windy weather we got on Sunday.
You don’t even need a ref to play (players will call fouls on each other and you talk out any disputes on the field): just a field and a Frisbee. Any age, any time. It almost makes me want to pick up the sport, except for the running part.
So much good food is to be had in Austin—as one friend said, “Austin is not the place to be skinny or sober.” Well, we tried. Luxuriously thick smoothies at a tiny juice bar, iconic and consistent tacos, and the most satisfying feast with vegetable-packed bibimbap at my favorite Austin eatery. A stop at Tam’s Deli to pick up banh mi for the team also brought us to the cutest, most unassuming mom and pop shop with steamed vegetable buns (!!).
Those bibimbap bowls always leave me longing for a huge bowl of crunchy vegetables, avocado, tofu and a runny egg drizzled in a light, tangy sauce, so I’ll share how I make my own at home soon. This cabbage nest was invented partly due to those crunchy cravings, partly due to a desire to make delicious baked eggs on a smaller scale. The toasted, herbed almond bits almost adds a savory, cheese-like saltiness to the cabbage without actually adding parmesan (though I could be dreaming), and the edges of the cabbage took on a roasty, toasty quality reminiscent of caramelized roasted cauliflower (yum). And cooking the egg, covered, in a nest of cabbage yields an egg quite texturally similar to baked eggs. It’s so simple and unexpectedly delicious. Try it!
I’m warning you now, you’ll probably want to double this.
Sesame-Almond Cabbage Egg Nests
Ingredients
- 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 tablespoon almond meal
- dried rosemary
- 2/3 cups loosely packed napa cabbage chopped finely
- 1 large egg
- salt and pepper
- 1 slice whole-grain bread toasted (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in the pan over medium heat. Once warm, increase the heat to medium high and add the almond meal and a generous pinch of rosemary. Cook, stirring, for about a minute, or until almond meal starts to brown just slightly. Add the cabbage along with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for another minute, until cabbage starts to wilt and take on a little gloss.
- Reduce heat to medium and create a little indentation in the center of the cabbage. Crack the egg into the “nest,” cover with a lid and cook for 3-4 minutes, depending on how firm you want your egg—judge doneness by the jiggle of the egg yolk when you shake the pan slightly. Sprinkle additional salt and pepper over the top and serve on a slice of toast, if you like.
Allison (Spontaneous Tomato)
I love this! I mean, I love any kind of eggs in any kind of nests (I often make baked eggs in spinach nests), but this is so original yet so simple, and it sounds gorgeously nutty and flavorful! I never would have thought of using almond meal for something like that, and I have recently been enjoying anything with crunchy cabbage (although I buy whole cabbage heads, and then can’t quite use them up fast enough). I am definitely going to try this!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Oops, I meant CABBAGE. I have cauliflower on the brain LOL. Really hard to make a nest with knobby cauliflower pieces.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Oh I love these too. A beautiful yolky egg over so many things is just Heaven on a plate, and a great way to get protein and other nutrients. And great idea with the cauliflower nests. Pinning this one too!!
laurasmess
Ah, I love everything you do. This is so gorgeous in its simplicity, I am a big fan of runny egg yolks so I’m sure once I try this, it’ll be a regular in our dinner repertoire. As for bibimbap??? Ah! Love that stuff!
P.S totally in awe of your sister’s ultimate frisbee stamina. I’ve tried that game and it KILLS (I mean it, I was dead for like, half an hour afterwards!) xx
Irene @ {a swoonful of sugar}
You’re pretty incredible you know for making cabbage and egg look THIS good!!!
Catie @ Mangoes Margarita
Yumm – I went to Austin 2 years ago and loved all of the eclectic food…especially Torchy’s!! This recipe looks fabulous… I’ve been loving cooking with sesame oil lately!
Katie (The Muffin Myth)
I love those words of wisdom. I was in Rome last weekend, and it was also, unsurprisingly, not a place to be skinny or sober. These little egg nests look great. I love your twists on classic Asian food, and this looks so easy and nourishing. I’m always looking for fast and easy ways to get in more produce with my protein. Yum!
erika
Aw thanks Katie! This space has indeed slowly and unconsciously turned into a collection of not-classic Asian food. Probably thanks to my new infatuation with ginger. ARGH to be able to say “in Rome for the weekend”…so jeals! <3
The Vegan 8
I love the simplicity of this dish girl and sesame oil….man, that stuff is sooo incredibly delicious. It is amazing! I love that you used almond meal too. You are absolutely killing me with all of this Austin talk too…I think I’ve told you before that is my favorite city in the whold world and where is my dream place to live. It is a vegan city full of vegan food….so opposite of Houston. Not to mention, how beautiful it is! One day, one day I will live there! 🙂 Oh, and your sister sounds like a rockstar!!
erika
I know!!! Vegan HEAVEN. I think I’ve even heard of a vegan ice cream spot there, which I must try! I’d love for you to live there and review all of your favorite places! And thanks, I’m sure my sister will be happy to hear that 😉
Nora (A Clean Bake)
Oh my gosh, seriously, you had me at “runny egg”. I’d eat a runny egg on cardboard! But I obviously prefer it this way. I’ve made eggs on greens 9,000 times, but never with cabbage and never with sesame oil and almond meal and fancy flavors like that. Yay for mixing it up! This is going to be dinner soon.
erika
Hahaha I probably would too…so in love with them <3 I was actually planning to make this over spinach before I realized I'd forgotten to buy some and there was a little forgotten heart of napa cabbage in my fridge...so yay for bare fridges, I guess haha. It's a great way to force inspiration sometimes! Hope you like it 🙂
Erica
This looks great! I am a big fan of any simple “egg meals” – this afternoon I made some savory oatmeal topped with roasted carrots and, of course, a soft fried egg!
yummychunklet
The egg looks simply delicious.
Shikha @ Shikha la mode
You went to Torchy’s!! I’ve still never gone but really want to. DAILY JUICE IS MY FAVORITE. I even have a punch card when I go LOL. Which smoothie die you get? So glad you got to do an Austin visit!
erika
Oh well come visit me in Houston! We have Torchy’s galore here in Texas 🙂 For future reference, I am crazy in love with the baja shrimp. The fried avocado is lovely for avocado fiends (too much for my taste), the blackened salmon is second only to the shrimp, and the migas is like two tacos in one. Love. I still want to try the mushroom one. I got the subliminator I think with PB, banana, spirulina, etc.–SO THICK AND GOOD. Which are your favs??
Nancy @ gottagetbaked
Whoa, Erika, this is so simple yet mind-blowingly delicious! I love napa cabbage! Yours looks wonderfully caramelized and you KNOW how much I love eggs over everything. That runny yolk is fabulous! As for the ultimate frisbee – 90+ straight minutes of running sounds horrific, lol. Your sister is a machine for doing it. I used to really love floor hockey (back in high school). I played in a floor hockey tournament for fun in law school and I almost DIED. I have zero endurance so the running made my lungs and legs feel like fire. I have big plans to start running when the weather improves. Let’s see if I actually do it!
erika
Thanks Nancy! I know–and it’s not just 90+ minutes–it’s that times 3 or 4. Or times 6 over the course of an entire weekend. No wonder her teammates can eat for days! Floor hockey sounds so fun! I unfortunately have no hand-eye coordination–that’s another reason why I will not be picking up ultimate anytime soon lol.