Baked Eggs w Spinach & Labneh (Ottolenghi style)

In my (eternal) quest for guilt-free, yet delicious treats, I have come across this beautiful & absolutely mouth-watering comfort breakfast that will probably leave you drooling until you decide to make it yourselves. I recommend it warmly because it's healthy, low-fat, balanced, and it doesn't contain a drop of oil (unless you want to drizzle some on top at the end).

I am in a love/hate relationship with oil and that is because Romanian/Eastern European food tends to be so greasy, so I kind of go on the extremes sometimes. However, I love extra virgin olive oil that I use on a regular basis in cooking and as a skin moisturizer. 

Inspired by "Cilbir, which is Turkish poached eggs with yoghurt", Yotam Ottolenghi paired them with rocket and Greek yoghurt.  I transformed this beautiful recipe by using fresh spinach instead and my home-made labneh.

Baked Eggs with Steamed Spinach, Lebnah and Zataar

inspired by Baked eggs with yoghurt and chilli

Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

Type of cuisine: Fusion/Middle Eastern

Ingredients

(serves 1) *

1 egg

300 g fresh spinach

a pinch of salt

zataar

labneh

extra virgin olive oil (optional)

* if you are cooking for more, you can increase the quantities

Preparation

Preheat the oven at 150 degrees.

Labneh is drained yoghurt and it's similar to a very soft spreadable cheese. It is recommended that you let the yoghurt drain overnight. 

Wash thoroughly the spinach and steam it. You can also add half a glass of water and a pinch of salt in a large pan and let it simmer till the leaves soften.

Don't use frozen spinach. Though I have never tried it with frozen spinach, I trust the taste is different. Fresh spinach is better. 

Method

Drain and transfer the spinach to a small ovenproof dish and made a circle in the middle. Break the egg into the hallow and bake it for 20-ish minutes or so. Once you see that the egg is cooked, decorate the dish with three or four labneh balls and finish by sprinkling some salt and zataar all over.

This is probably one of the easiest and healthiest dishes that I can think of and it's perfect for a laid-back breakfast or weekend brunch.