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This Mediterranean-Inspired Breakfast Is Packed With Nutrients
I don't know about you, but I'm a pretty big breakfast fan. From mbg's favorite healthy breakfasts to plant-based options, I'm always adding to my list of go-to's for the morning hours—especially when recipes are nutritious, simple, and not too fussy.
Now that we're entertaining again, I've also been in search of dishes that can feed a crowd, without too much fiddly frying of eggs or flipping of pancakes—and this recipe from recipe developer and TikTok star Shereen Pavlides is perfect for a crowd.
From her new book Cooking With Shereen From Scratch, it combines eggs with a mix of bright summer veggies and a little bit of cheese and hits a ton of good nutrients so you're starting your day strong. "This is a breakfast twist on a classic, summer vegetable dish called briám," she writes. "It's Greek!"
It's the eggs and Kasseri that make this version different from the original. "Kasseri is a Greek sheep and goat's milk cheese that can be found in the cheese section at some markets, specialty stores or online."
You're going to start with a whole lot of veggies (the best start to a dish, if you ask me), which are then roasted before you add the eggs and cheese at the end. "If you're entertaining, you can make the vegetables up to 4 hours ahead, place in a baking dish, cover with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature," says Pavlides. "When you're ready to serve, reheat the vegetables until hot before adding the cheese and eggs, then finish baking."
The ingredient list reads like a list of the best summer picks from the farmers market, but they also all fit right into a Mediterranean diet—especially if you're able to opt for local and organic options. But no matter what veggies you start with, this dish is going to be good. Want more breakfast ideas inspired by the Mediterranean coast? Here are our favorite Mediterranean diet breakfasts.
Briám With Baked Eggs and Garlic Crostini
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
For the briám:
- 1 eggplant
- 3 tsp. kosher salt, divided + more for sprinkling the eggplant
- 7 ripe Roma tomatoes, cored, quartered lengthwise, and halved
- 2 zucchinis, quartered lengthwise, ¾-inch dice
- 2 red bell peppers, 1-inch dice
- 1 large red onion, 1-inch dice
- 16 garlic cloves, smashed
- ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh oregano
- ⅔ cup olive oil
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 3 oz. freshly grated Kasseri cheese
- 6 to 8 large eggs, at room temperature
- Coarse sea salt
- 2 tbsp. chopped Italian parsley
For the garlic crostini:
- 5 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp. good-quality olive oil
- 1 day-old French baguette, cut into ½-inch slices on a bias
- Kosher salt and fresh finely ground black pepper
- 1 large clove garlic, cut in half crosswise
Method
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Set one oven rack in the top third of the oven and one on the bottom.
- Peel and slice the eggplant lengthwise into four equal portions. Lightly sprinkle with salt and let it rest on paper towels to pull out some moisture and bitterness, about 25 minutes. While the eggplant is resting, prep the remaining ingredients.
- Divide the tomatoes, zucchinis, red peppers, red onion, garlic cloves, and oregano among two 13-by-18-inch rimmed sheet pans. Wipe the eggplant dry, removing the salt and moisture, and dice into 1-inch cubes. Toss them evenly among the other vegetables.
- Whisk the oil, lemon zest, and juice in a small bowl. Divide the lemon oil over the vegetables and toss well to evenly coat. Season all of the vegetables with 2 teaspoons of the salt and 1 teaspoon of the pepper. Spread out all the vegetables to evenly cook.
- Place one baking sheet on the upper third rack and the other on the bottom rack. Bake until tender, 20 minutes. Remove and toss the vegetables, spreading the vegetables back out among the baking sheets. Return to the oven, alternating the placement on the oven racks. Continue baking until lightly golden and the moisture has reduced by two-thirds, 20 to 25 minutes. Season all the vegetables with the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper as needed.
- Transfer the roasted vegetables to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle the cheese over the vegetables and make slight indentations (the size of a half dollar, using the back of a tablespoon), in 6 to 8 spots, evenly spread out. Crack one egg at a time, and slowly release into an indentation. Don't break the yolks! Repeat with the remaining eggs. If you're adding more than 6 eggs, the whites may run together, don'ta you worry! Bake until the egg whites are set and the yolks have a skin but are still runny, 8 to 12 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven (leaving the oven on), and let the vegetables rest for 5 to 8 minutes. Keep warm.
- To make the crostini, warm the butter and oil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-low heat until the butter is melted, about 2 minutes, slowly swirling the pot occasionally. Arrange the bread slices on a rimmed baking sheet and brush both sides with the oilbuttah. Lightly sprinkle with kosher salt and finely cracked black pepper on one side. Bake the bread slices until lightly golden and toasted, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove and rub the surface of each slice with the cut garlic clove.
- Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over each egg, for a salted crunch, and garnish the vegetables with parsley because you're fancy! Using a spatula, scoop deep under each egg in the vegetable mixture—don't break the yolks! Divide the briám among 4 to 6 plates. Serve with garlic crostinis on the side.
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