Chickpea, Kale & Oven-Baked Egg and White Bean Basil Hummus

Last night we made a dinner from a website that Will has been perusing for home projects recently called Apartment Therapy. They have a section of their website called "The Kitchn" which includes recipes, of course. Will saw this one not that long ago and thought it sounded simple enough. It involved a lot of basic foods we like to eat: chickpeas, kale and eggs. We opted to skip out on the sausage this time since we're trying to only eat one kind of meat per week (to help cut some costs in our food budget) and this week is a chicken week so sorry dish-no sausage for you. However, after making this and reading the description of it, we realized you could probably make it with just about any combo of beans and meat and greens. We would consider making this with black beans, with the sausage it initially calls for, ground turkey, spinach, kidney beans-whatever your heart desires!

In addition our dinner, we also indulged one of our new favorite things to cook with for a side dish: white beans (or cannellini beans). We made some today in our Crockpot and even though we cooked them too long, we got a good lunch salad and a new favorite way to make hummus out of it (and also some beans to have on hand for the impending hurricane, Isaac). The simplicity of the hummus complimented the chickpea, kale and oven-baked egg well and didn't have the heaviness that a chickpea hummus can sometimes create. We enjoyed both again for lunch today!

Cooking Notes for Oven-Baked Egg: First of all, we doubled the recipe to make it for two people, but honestly we probably didn't need to because it's really filling; initially though the recipe says it is for one. Cookingwise, instead of just using olive oil to cook the onion, Will also used some ghee (clarified butter). We used potatoes instead of sausage and cooked it at the same time as it calls for sausage. We did use the harissa to add some spice, although next time Will says he would add Moroccan spices to the mixture while cooking it in the skillet to really cook in more flavors. Also, instead of using brams (which we don't have, but look really cool), we used our tagine without its top. When we reheated the mix for lunch today, Will split the leftovers and heated them in Pyrex dishes we have, cracking 1 egg over each, giving a similar effect that a bram would.

Chickpea, Kale and Oven-Baked Egg (adapted from The Kitchn; recipe doubled with our additions; serves 6)
1 onion, medium chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp ghee
Salt and ground black pepper
3 Russell potatoes, diced 
1 bunch kale
1 1/2 cups chickpeas (or 1 can drained)
A dollop of harissa
2 eggs
1 green onion, for garnish
Feta cheese, to taste

In a medium-sized frying pan, saute the onion in olive oil, ghee and a pinch of salt/ground black epp for 3-4 minutes, until translucent. Add the potatoes and continue cooking until slightly softened. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add rinsed kale to saucepan and cook until wilted. Add harissa and chickpeas, gently stirring through until heated.

Transfer chickpea and kale mixture to tagine. Make two indentions in the mix to provide room for the eggs. Crack 1 egg into each indent. Cook in oven for 8-10 minutes or until egg is cooked, covering with tin foil if necessary to help egg cook faster or tagine top. Remove and add green onions and feta. Continue cooking for at least 2 more minutes, until egg appears done.

Recipe: The Kitchn: Chickpea, Kale and Oven-Baked Egg

Cooking Notes for Hummus: If you cooked the cannellini beans yourself, go ahead and add about 4 tbsp of water to help get a creamier consistency to make up for the lack of juice that comes in the can.

White Bean Basil Hummus (adapted from Greatist; serves 6)
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 handful of fresh basil leaves
2 garlic cloves
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp tahini
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice (or the juice of 1 lemon)

Mix all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Recipe: Greatist: White Bean Basil Hummus