EGGS AND SOLDIERS
I’ve been enamored with soft-boiled eggs since I read Molly Wizenberg’s romantic piece on Saveur.com titled “The Seven-Minute Egg.” These eggs are even quicker, because you want a runny yolk to dip the Paleo “soldiers” into. These are usually strips of toast, but in our case, they’re sweet and salty bacon-wrapped sweet potato wedges. This recipe is unique and a little fancy, but perfect for adults and children alike. SERVES 4
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOK TIME: 45 minutes
2 sweet potatoes, each cut into about 8 (¼-inch) wedges
8 slices bacon, halved
8 eggs
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Wrap each sweet potato wedge with ½ piece of bacon. Place on a baking sheet, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, turning the potatoes over halfway through the cooking time. Remove from the oven, and let cool slightly.
- Toward the end of the baking time, bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Using a spoon, carefully lower the eggs into the boiling water, and cook for 6 minutes. Use a spoon to transfer the eggs to a colander, and run them under cold water to stop further cooking. Place into egg cups, and cut off the tops.
- Serve 2 eggs and 4 potato wedges per person. To eat, dip the bacon-wrapped sweet potatoes into the egg yolk. When you’ve eaten the sweet potatoes, spoon out the rest of the eggs onto your plate.
VARIATION 1 AVOCADO SOLDIERS: Instead of quartered sweet potatoes, wrap quartered avocado in halved slices of bacon. You can cook these for a few minutes on each side in a skillet instead of in the oven since the avocado doesn’t really need to bake.
VARIATION 2 ASPARAGUS SOLDIERS: Use asparagus instead of sweet potatoes if you would like more green vegetables with your breakfast—just snap the ends off the asparagus stalks and drizzle with about a tablespoon of olive oil, then roast at 425°F (220°C) for 15 to 20 minutes.
PALEO PAIR: For a light lunch, serve the Eggs and Soldiers over 1 or 2 cups (480 ml) field greens.
More Recipes You'll Love
These eggs and soldiers swap toast soldiers for bacon-wrapped sweet potato wedges roasted until sweet and crisp, then dipped into six-minute soft-boiled eggs with gloriously runny yolks. A little fancy and completely fun - kids love the dunking. Breakfast that feels like an event.
Pro Tips
- Cut each sweet potato into about 8 wedges, roughly 1/4 inch thick, and wrap each wedge with half a slice of bacon so they cook through in the 30-40 minute bake.
- Turn the wedges halfway through baking so the bacon crisps on both sides.
- Boil the eggs exactly 6 minutes for runny yolks, then run them under cold water to stop the cooking. Cut off the tops and serve in egg cups.
- Time the eggs to finish as the wedges come out of the oven - the whole point is dipping warm soldiers into warm, runny yolk.
- Variations: wrap quartered avocado in bacon and pan-fry it, or roast asparagus at 425°F for 15-20 minutes as green soldiers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are eggs and soldiers paleo?
This version is - the soldiers are bacon-wrapped sweet potato wedges instead of toast. Just sweet potatoes, bacon, and eggs.
How do I get soft-boiled eggs right?
Six minutes in boiling water, then cold water to stop the cooking. That gives you the runny yolk made for dipping.
Can I make the bacon-wrapped wedges ahead?
Yes - roast them and rewarm in a hot oven. Boil the eggs fresh so the yolks stay properly runny.
What can I dip instead of sweet potato wedges?
Bacon-wrapped avocado or roasted asparagus both make great soldiers if you want to change things up.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Wrap each sweet potato wedge with ½ piece of bacon.
- Place on a baking sheet, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, turning the potatoes over halfway through the cooking time.
- Remove from the oven, and let cool slightly.
- Serve 2 eggs and 4 potato wedges per person. To eat, dip the bacon-wrapped sweet potatoes into the egg yolk.
- When you’ve eaten the sweet potatoes, spoon out the rest of the eggs onto your plate.
