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.
- 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 for 15 to 20 minutes.
PALEO PAIR: For a light lunch, serve the Eggs and Soldiers over 1 or 2 cups field greens.
