Crispy Breadcrumb Fried Eggs

These eggs are exactly what they sound like: fried eggs combined with teeny croutons. I like them on top of vegetables or rice bowls. You can add a sprinkling of herbs like dill to the pan, but not too much while you’re cooking the eggs—you don’t want to introduce excess water. As written, this recipe makes fried eggs with little salty, crunchy breadcrumb bits embedded in them. If you want to go breadcrumb-crazy, or if you have more than one slice to use up, tear up 2 or 3 slices of bread. In Step 4, you’ll need to scooch the breadcrumbs aside in spots to make little nests that you can crack the eggs into.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 slice stale bread, torn into small (pea-size or smaller) breadcrumbs

• Fine-grain sea salt

• 4 large eggs

• Freshly ground black pepper

• Hot sauce (optional)

Cooking with Scraps by Lindsay-Jean Hard

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a medium-size skillet over medium heat.

2. Add the breadcrumbs to the melted butter and stir them around to coat. Add a pinch of salt or season to taste.

3. Cook the breadcrumbs until golden brown and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes.

4. Make sure the breadcrumbs are scattered evenly in the skillet and then crack the eggs on top of them.

5. Continue cooking the eggs over medium heat until the whites are set and the yolks are cooked to your liking, and season with sea salt. This could take just over a minute or up to 4 minutes depending on your yolk preferences. I like my fried eggs over-easy, with the yolk still runny, so once the whites are almost completely set, I flip them over briefly to set the other side, and flip them back again for plating—solely for aesthetic reasons.

6. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and optionally, a few dashes of hot sauce.