This summer, Saturdays have turned in to a leisurely meal outside on the deck, enjoying the shade of the 250 year old oak tree, the gentle breeze, and the mild early summer temperatures. And in such a relaxing, civilized setting, not just any lunch will do.
A recent Saturday morning found me watching FoodNetwork TV as I got ready to run my routine errands (like picking up the CSA produce box that we get weekly). Tyler Florence’s show “Tyler’s Ultimate” was on, and while he tends to do food we like, I wasn’t paying extraordinary attention… until he began to discuss a dish called Gallina De Madre, or Mother Hen Toast. I was immediately intrigued.
This dish consisted of a crusty, toasted slab of rustic bread, topped with serrano ham and an egg, then baked. I knew that the chances of finding serrano ham were slim, but I also know that other high quality ham would work for this dish.
Gallina De Madre was offered up as a tapas, or even a nice breakfast. It looked to me like the perfect lunch for that very day, and so I made sure that my errands for the day including picking up anything we might need. As is usual, I modified the recipe that he presented to suit our tastes.
Recipe serves 2:
2 thick-cut slices rustic bread
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 slices shaved serrano ham (We used Boar’s Head Black Forest Ham)
2 eggs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Lay bread out on a sheet tray and drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toast lightly in oven. Arrange 2 slices of ham on each slice of toast and nestle it into a nest shape so the egg will rest in the center. Crack egg and drop into nest on each toast. Bake in oven until eggs are just cooked but the yolk is still slightly runny, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, if needed.
Served along side a bed of greens simply dressed with salt, pepper, olive oil and red wine vinegar, it was exactly what we were looking for that day.
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