Eggs, I truly believe, are an underrated ingredient, not only as an inexpensive protein source but also for how they can be adapted to suit countless recipes. Personally, I absolutely adore eggs and if and when I can have them for breakfast, trust and believe, I will.
It comes at an opportune time then, that I discovered eggs from Poland—specifically from the largest egg producer in Poland called Fermy Woźniak. October happens to be the host of World Egg Day 2020, on 9 October, to be exact. It also is the year of the fourth Poland SHIOK Festival, a celebration of the best of Polish food, culture, and arts from September to November 2020.
I bet you didn’t know that Poland exports these tiny powerhouses of nutrition that hold 75% water, 12% protein, and 10% fat. It also carries vitamins and minerals to support healthy brain function and our immune system, as well as lowers the risk of heart disease. In fact, pregnant women can benefit from a regular diet of eggs; it will provide many important nutrients necessary for the proper development of the fetus.
Eggs from Fermy Woźniak are laid by hens reared in small groups, and are rigorously tested for damage, leakage, presence of blood, contamination, and disinfected via UV treatment. Only microbiologically safe and tested eggs are then shipped locally and overseas. Fun fact: if you want to know if you’ve bought authentic Polish eggs, look out for its distinguishable mark in tiny red ink printed on the egg shell; it should start with ‘3PL’, as proof of its authenticity.
To celebrate the wonders of eggs during the month of Egg World Day 2020 as well as Poland Shiok Festival, we’ve created not one, but three egg-stra special recipes—Shakshouka, Oyster Omelette, and Soufflé With Cherries—incorporating eggs from Fermy Woźniak. It so happens that they have launched a speciality cookbook, Zdrovo from Fermy Woźniak, which features some of these all-egg recipes. These recipes cater to all meals of the day, from light snacks to desserts.
Zdrovo (in Latin ‘ovo’ means egg, and zdrovo means ‘healthy’ ) is Poland’s domestic brand of eggs and this cookbook makes for a great introduction to how multi-faceted eggs are in the kitchen. The easy-to-follow recipes will fit the lifestyle of even the busiest of individuals, especially if they’re looking to adopt a healthier eating habit. With these three recipes, you’ll be treated to a variety of flavours and cooking styles, so ready your palates for an egg-citing culinary journey with the finest polish eggs!
Shakshouka
Ingredients
- 2 Zdrovo eggs
- 2 tomatoes (cut into large cubes)
- 2 red sweet peppers (chopped and de-seeded)
- 1 onion (sliced)
- 4 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ bunch of parsley
- Large handful of parmesan cheese (optional)
- Salt, pepper, paprika powder, cane sugar (all to taste)
- Cooking oil
Tools
- Chopping board
- Knife
- Pan
- Cooking spoon
- Baking dish
- Oven
Recipe Preparation
Preparation time: 5 minutes; Cooking time: 25 minutes
Feeds two
Step 1: Pre-heat your oven to 220°C. Peel and slice onion. Peel garlic and finely chop. Chop and de-seed red sweet pepper. Cut tomatoes into large cubes.
Step 2: In a medium-sized pan, heat a drizzle of cooking oil. When hot, add the sliced onion and finely chopped garlic and cook till translucent.
Step 3: Once the onions have turned translucent, throw in the tomato cubes and de-seeded red sweet pepper. At this moment, you can also add in one tablespoon of tomato paste.
Step 4: Season to taste with salt and pepper, along with sugar and paprika, to your liking. Continue to cook and stir all the ingredients on low heat for 10 minutes.
Step 5: Once the ingredients have become soft and well-mixed, transfer everything into a baking dish.
Step 6: Create shallow pits on the top of the mixture to accommodate the eggs. Crack two eggs, and place one in each shallow pit.
Step 7: Sprinkle with parmesan cheese (optional), and place in pre-heated oven at 220°C for 15 minutes.
Remember to check your dish every few minutes, in case you prefer your eggs slightly runny. If so, you might want to bring down the baking temperature to 180°C. Expect the kitchen to smell amazing once you remove the Shakshouka from the oven; the aromatic parmesan certainly made me hungry and eager to dig in.
The eggs here were well-cooked, and the tomato-and-sweet pepper combination made for a sweet-sour medley, punctuated by mild heat from the paprika. The addition of sugar, I believe, tempered the acidity of the tomatoes, so the richness of the tomato taste really stood out.
It was such an effortless dish to create, and one that I wouldn’t hesitate to re-create for a lazy Sunday brunch with family.
Oyster Omelette
Ingredients
- 4 Zdrovo eggs
- 10 to 12 oysters (frozen or fresh)
- 2 stalks spring onions
- 2 tbsp potato flour
- 1 tbsp rice flour
- 130ml water
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp chopped garlic
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- Cooking oil
Tools
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Frying spatula
- Wok/medium-sized pan
Recipe Preparation
Preparation time: 5 minutes; Cooking time: 15 minutes
Feeds one
Step 1: Mix eggs, fish sauce, soy sauce, and pepper in a bowl. Whisk well and set aside.
Step 2: Mix potato flour, rice flour, a pinch of salt, and water together. Whisk to ensure there are no lumps. Set aside.
Step 3: Oil pan generously. Pour batter in, in batches from the side of the wok, and spread each batch out evenly to cover the base of the wok/pan. Allow batter to cook and crisp before flipping over.
Step 4: Once the batter is slightly brown, add in the egg mixture.
Step 5: Break the egg batter into small pieces before adding extra soy sauce for taste and continue cooking till golden brown.
Step 6: Push egg mixture to the side of the wok/pan. Fry minced garlic and add in oyster and spring onions.
Step 7: Fry everything together for 1 minute before serving. Serve while warm.
Oyster Omelette is definitely a Singaporean hawker staple, and before attempting this recipe, I would’ve never guessed how simple it’d be to make this right at home. The best part is that you can adjust this recipe to your liking, adding in chilli or enjoying it with a side of sambal for spiciness if you wish.
I absolutely loved how this recipe turned out; the brininess of the oysters was potent, but not too much that I couldn’t taste how delightfully eggy the batter was. Also, the supple oysters complemented the chewiness of egg batter perfectly.
Whip this up as an easy lunch or quick dinner and you’re one step closer to mastering yet another egg recipe!
Soufflé With Cherries
Ingredients
- 3 Zdrovo eggs
- ⅔ glass of milk
- 1½ – 2 cups frozen cherries
- 5 tbsp sugar (set aside 2 tbsp for cherries)
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- Salt
Tools
- Pot
- Spatula
- Mixing bowl
- Electric mixer/whisk
- Ramekins/Baking mould of your choice
- Oven
Recipe Preparation
Preparation time: 0 minutes; Cooking time: 30 minutes
Feeds two
Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 200°C. Cook the frozen cherries with 2 tablespoons of sugar until cherries are soft. Remove from heat and set aside.
Step 2: Separate the egg yolks and egg whites, and set aside.
Step 3: In a pot, melt butter and mix in the flour while constantly stirring. Slowly add in the milk, followed by remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar, until the mixture thickens.
Step 4: As the mixture thickens, bring the pot to a boil and add in the cherries. Next, pour in the egg yolks, one by one, stirring constantly. You can turn off the heat once everything is combined and leave the pot to rest on the stove.
Step 5: Whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt till stiff peaks form. Then proceed to combine the cherry mixture into the egg whites in batches. Fold the egg whites in slowly, so as not to overmix it.
Step 6: Once everything is well-combined, transfer the mixture into ramekins/baking moulds and bake them in the pre-heated oven at 200°C for about 15 minutes. You may check them after 15 minutes and use a small knife/toothpick to check if they’re ready; the knife/toothpick should come out clean. Serve while hot.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t end a meal—especially dinner—without a sweet treat. If you’re planning for a romantic meal in, this dessert recipe is one that you can have on standby—and you’ll surely impress.
Amp this recipe by adding liquor to the mix—at the very start when reducing the cherries with sugar—by adding a few splashes of rum or whisky, for that extra bite. I especially enjoyed how plump and juicy the cherries were.
Most importantly, I know how daunting it can be to attempt baking a soufflé, but this recipe wasn’t intimidating at all—and we all had fun!
As you can see, these three egg recipes aren’t as difficult to do as one would imagine, and it truly displays the versatility of eggs. The next time you’re going on a grocery run, be sure to look out for Zdrovo eggs, with its signature yellow, red, and white label, and especially their ‘3PL’ marking.
Be sure to catch the highlights of the POLAND Shiok Festival on their Facebook page, as well as refer to the digital version of Zdrovo from Fermy Woźniak cookbook for more sp-egg-tacular creations.
*This post is brought to you in partnership with Fermy Woźniak.
