This week’s Cook the Book Fridays recipe from David Lebovitz’ My Paris Kitchen speaks volumes about how the food scene in Paris has changed over the past decade. Earlier this summer I reviewed Kristen Beddard’s Bonjour Kale, a charming tale of one expat’s quest to re-introduce a forgotten vegetable back into the Frecnh mainstream – kale or “le chou kale” as it’s known.
Back in the late 1990s when I lived in Paris you’d never have been able to locate kale but slowly, over the last few years, it has increased in both visibility and popularity, hence David’s ability to whip up an easy little breakfast/ brunch/lunch (it’s very versatile) dish with it would have been impossible to create when he (or I) first moved to Paris.
Basically it’s wilted kale topped with eggs, a touch of cream, goat’s cheese and some garlicky breadcrumbs (the absolute star of the show for me this week – I’ll be making more and keeping them on hand!). David adds some smoked salmon but I used a couple of rashers of bacon instead that I cooked until crisp and then tossed through the kale. At 350˚F my eggs took much longer than the suggested 10-12 minutes until the whites were actually cooked (closer to 20 minutes actually) so if you make this recipe, watch out for that. It was a lovely brunch for one and the kale does make it feel like it’s mildly healthy 😉
Get the recipe for David Lebovitz’ baked eggs with kale and bacon here on p 151 of My Paris Kitchen.
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Disclosure: I was provided with a copy of “My Paris Kitchen” for review purposes. I was not asked to write about the book, nor am I being compensated for doing do. All opinions 100% my own.
Looks great. I agree with you the bread crumbs were the star of this dish. I would like to make this again with bacon and spinach.
Oh the breadcrumbs were SO good!
We really enjoyed this dish and since Jim wants a repeat, I plan on making it again next week using
bacon instead of ham. A simple and easy recipe that can be served anytime.
See now I want to make it with ham next time!
Using bacon is a delicious choice, one that my kids would definitely love! This is lovely and I will be making this again!
I think bacon really does make everything better!
Mine took a little longer to cook, too. And I tripled the breadcrumb recipe, which was a VERY good idea. They really do make this dish and they’re good on just about everything else.
Oh those breadcrumbs are totally going on everything from now on!
Looks delicious. I am always looking for a different breakfast/brunch dish.
Me too and I often have kale on hand that I don’t know what to do with!
I am totally in love with kale and am so glad that I can now find it readily on sale in our local green grocers here in SW France. I also grow it in the garden as it lasts all winter and has no problems with the cold! I love it raw in green smoothies and also often serve kale chips, roasted in a very hot over with some salt and olive oil, the children adore it. I shall be making these eggs with kale for a light supper this evening. Merci beaucoup
It’s definitely a perfect light supper 🙂
The breadcrumbs were amazing! I really enjoyed this for a light lunch or dinner. I smiled remembering Bonjour Kale, one of my favorite summer reads (thanks to you!)
Aw thanks! Bonjour Kale is a lovely tale and I’m sure David is thankful for Kristin’s work to bring it back to people’s attention too!
The crispy bacon did it for me. I like the flavor you put into the dish.
It’s really good with bacon but you do need to hold the salt because the goat cheese is salty too. But great flavours!
It looks lovely, it would have been a great way to use up the abundance of Kale I have been receiving at my CSA. Alas, I am an egg hater. I will eat very few – once in a while I will have a deviled egg or hard boiled. But it takes a lot to get me to do that. I love the idea of using bacon.
I think even with no egg you could do a baked cake/ cream/ bacon dish!
Your dish looks wonderful. I loved the crumbs too – I made extra, so they also worked perfectly on rack of lamb later in the week! Great idea of using the bacon. I made one with the salmon, one plain. I thought it’s a great jumping-off point.
Yes it’s an excellent jumping off point!