Spring on a sheet pan

Can you hear that? That’s the sound of the neighborhood hens warming up for their busy season. On the heels of the last recipe for breakfast nachos, I thought, why not follow up with baked eggs for dinner in celebration of spring. Thank you for humoring me: my friends know I will put an egg on anything. Why wouldn’t you? I would also like to give a shout out to my friends at Fannie’s in Warwick, whose baked eggs on their menu inspired me. (Disclosure: Farmer Joe Gara, the editor’s husband, supplies eggs to Fannie’s from his free-range flock.)

Sheet pan eggs for dinner
Serves 2 for dinner; 3-4 appetizers

2-3 tablespoons avocado oil or other neutral oil
1 large sweet potato, cubed
3 cups bok choy, rough chopped
3 cups napa cabbage, rough chopped
1 cup green snow peas
8-10 large stalks asparagus, whole
6 Brussels sprouts, sliced
2 cups kale, finely chopped
3 teaspoons black mustard seeds
3-4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, crumbled
4-6 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil water in a small saucepan and blanch sweet potatoes for about 4-5 minutes, then drain and dry well. Wash and cut your vegetables per the ingredient list and dry thoroughly. If vegetables are slightly wet, they will wilt instead of roasting in the oven. Cover a large sheet pan with parchment paper, add oil, then layer on sweet potato, bok choy, napa cabbage, snow peas, Brussels sprouts and kale, spreading out and tossing in oil as you layer it on to create some variety. Top the vegetables with asparagus at different angles, then add crumbled cheddar on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle mustard seeds all over, and salt and pepper to taste.

Bake for about 16 minutes, then remove sheet from oven and crack the eggs at a nice distance from one another carefully as to not break any yolks. If you do, they will still be delicious. Bake for an additional 12-14 minutes for a runny egg, depending on your stove, 14-18 minutes for a more cooked yolk.