Quick and clever egg recipes you have never thought to try

Chef and food editor, Warren Mendes is sharing classic recipes with a twist including scrambled, omelette and poached eggs!

You may be surprised to hear you can cook delicious meringues on a BBQ, create a perfect omelette using sous vide or even scramble eggs in a rice cooker. We’ve tried and tested these, plus more, so you can recreate them at home and have some fun while cooking with eggs.

Note: all hacks we tested using 59g (XL) eggs.

Portobello Baked Eggs

Serves: 2-4

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 large portobello mushrooms
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 eggs
• Feta, sliced chilli and chopped chives to serve

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C fan forced and line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Remove the stalks from the mushrooms and use a spoon to scrape away the inside of the mushroom a little to ensure that you have a walled area that the egg will be able to sit in. Don’t waste the stalk and scrapings, place them on the tray along with the mushrooms, open side up. Drizzle the mushrooms with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Place the tray in the oven and cook for 10 minutes until the mushrooms are slightly tender, then remove them from the oven, and acting quickly while the mushrooms are still hot, crack an egg into each mushroom “bowl”. Place the tray back in the oven and roast for a further 5-7 minutes, keeping an eye on the eggs. Note: The cooking time will vary slightly depending on the size of your mushrooms.
4. Remove and scatter with chilli, feta and chives to serve

Note:

• Use whatever toppings you like, and if you want to be a bit more adventurous, add some garlic and thyme to the mushrooms before baking.

Sous vide omelette

Serves: 1

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup grated cheddar cheese
• 100g hot smoked salmon or trout, flaked
• 1 spring onion, very thinly sliced
• Oil, to grease
• Mixed herbs, to serve

Method:

1. Combine the eggs and cheese in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Whisk to combine then add the salmon and onion.
2. Grease the inside of a ziplock or sous vide bag, then place in a bowl or jug to stabilise. Pour the egg mixture into the ziplock bag and squeeze out any excess air and seal it.
3. Bring a saucepan of water to just below a simmer. Add the omelette bag, placing the seal side over the edge, so that it does not completely submerge. You can use a clip on the pan to help you with this. Leave the pan on low heat, just below a simmer, and leave the bag in there for 10 minutes. Note: You don’t want the water to be simmering.
4. Lift the bag out and feel to see if the egg has set enough. Add it back to the pan if it feels too runny in the centre.
5. Once you’re satisfied with the texture, remove it from the saucepan and slide the omelette out of the bag.
6. Scatter with herbs and serve.

Note:

• Ensure that you are using BPA-free heatproof ziplock or sous vide bags. You can add whatever fillings you like to this omelette. The benefit of this technique is that you can make multiple omelettes at a time in different bags and keep them warm in the water until you’re ready to serve.

BBQ meringues

Serves: 4-6 meringue nests

Cooking time: 1 hour 45 minutes (including cooling time)

Ingredients:

• 3 egg whites (59g eggs)
• ¾ cup caster sugar
• ½ tsp cream of tartar
• 1 handful bay leaves
• Maple syrup, whipped sour cream, berries and scorched mango to serve

Method:

1. Preheat a barbecue with a lid to the lowest heat (it should be around 130°C).
2. Using an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites, caster sugar and cream of tartar on medium-high speed for 6-8 minutes until stiff peaks form.
3. Grease a flameproof baking tray and line with baking paper. Place a wire rack on a separate flameproof baking tray.
4. Spoon the meringue into 4 or 6 mounds on the baking paper lined tray, then use the back of a spoon to smooth and create an indentation in the centre.
5. Place the meringues on the wire rack, then place the stacked trays onto the BBQ with the bay leaves, keeping the lid closed for 1 hour 15 minutes or until crisp and slightly golden on the edges. Once cooked through, turn off the BBQ and leave the meringue with lid closed for 30 minutes to cool then discard the bay leaves.
6. To serve, you can use whatever toppings you like. Serve the cooled meringues with some whipped sour cream, barbecued mango pieces, berries and maple syrup.

Rice cooker scrambled eggs

Serves: 2

Cooking time: 7 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup pure (thin) cream
• ½ cup finely grated parmesan
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 10g unsalted butter or olive oil

Method:

1. Preheat a non-stick rice cooker and allow to heat for 5 minutes.
2. Combine the eggs, cream and parmesan and season with salt and pepper.
3. Add the eggs to the bowl and cook for 1-2 minutes, using a spatula to move the mixture around until curds start to form. Turn to the “keep warm” setting, then allow the eggs to gently thicken. You can keep the eggs on the keep warm setting if needed. If you want your eggs cooked a little more, then switch back to the cook mode and cook until your desired level.  

Note:

• This is a great way to cook eggs if you don’t have a stove, or if you want to do a large batch and keep them warm using the rice cooker “keep warm” setting.