Hard-boiled eggs in lasagna? [Split from Not About Food]

[JuniorBalloon]

Not with egg. Not sure I understand why people think it won't taste good. Meat, cheese, sauce, pasta and egg. What's not to like? Sounds delicious.

jb

[rcallner]

Hardboiled egg doesn't sound so good to me in a lasagna (but I'm not massively grossed out, either). On the other hand, in the lasagna I made last night, I did incorporate a beaten egg into my cottage cheese/shredded parmesan/herb mixture (also used a bechamel and a red sauce between various layers), and the results were very satiny and good.

[mamachef]

I've seen recipes. I've seen pictures. I've heard commentary on this thread, (some of which are making me just a touch nauseous re the fart thing.)
I guess my feeling about it is, I like it for you but not for me or mine. I don't think I could pull off a switch like that and get away with it - or at least convince anyone to eat it. And it's not that I don't like hardboiled eggs, cause I do. One of my favorite recipes is vegetarian enchiladas that contain diced hard egg and zucchini in the filling, which will probably freak some people out for the same reason that hardboiled eggs in lasagna freaks me out.

[coll]

I haven't seen in lasagna, but my husband's Neopolitan aunt always put them in eggplant parmigiana, and put hard boiled eggs and tuna on her antipasta platter. My Italian grandmother always put three hard boiled eggs in the middle of her meatloaf. I think it's to stretch the meal, but I like how it saves you a few calories too.

[lynnlato]

The meatloaf w/ the HB eggs sounds like the braciole recipe I have with HB eggs rolled up in it.

[coll]

Do you chop them up in the braciole stuffing, or leave them whole like my grandmother did? My husband had a fit the first time I cut open a meatloaf and there were big circles of eggs embedded inside. I'm picturing the meat wrapped around the whole egg, and my husband's face when he sees that!

[lynnlato]

Yep, whole, just like your grandmother. Ha! I agree with your husband though, it is odd looking when you slice it.

[AndrewPF]

Eggs in my lasagna? Never! Nothing disappoints me more then when I'm eating some lasagna (one of my favorite foods, btw) and start chewing on some hard boiled egg. No thank you!

[todao]

Eggs that are overcooked tend to become rubbery. Otherwise, if you can accept that texture, I'd say go for it.

[c oliver]

Good point. Hard boil an egg and then cook it some more. Blech.

[Hank Hanover]

That's how I make lasagna in my house. Sliced Hard boiled eggs on the top just before the last layer of cheese. It's delicious. My wife and I don't care for ricotta so we use mozzarella cheese and the sliced hard boiled eggs. Try before you knock it.

[lynnlato]

I have a veal braciole recipe I sometimes make (when I can find a veal breast, which is nearly impossible in this Southern city) that calls for whole hard-boiled eggs in the center. You roll the veal breast up around them. Delicious!

[JuniorBalloon]

I saw Lidia make something similar. She also added julienned and then sauted carrots, zuchini, oninos and I think celery. She rolled it up in cheese cloth, tied the ends and then boiled it in water with some more aromatics. If I remember correctly it boiled for several hours. After it cooled she sliced it into rounds and the different colors of the veggeies and the egg looked great.

How do you cook your version?

jb

[lynnlato]

Wow, that's sounds lovely too. I would trust Lidia immensely.

Here is a link to the recipe I have used: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ty...

[ipsedixit]

How? Whole or chopped up?

I know that I sometimes will "stuff" a meatloaf with whole hardboiled eggs, and it's awfully awfully good.

[JuniorBalloon]

Sliced. At least in half perhaps thirds.

jb

[wonderwoman]

i spend christmas with my cousin (no egg) and her husband (egg). since they couldn't come to an agreement, their solution was no lasagna.

so for a number of years, i used to schlep 2 pans of lasagna (one of each, simple, no?) from boston to rockland county.

now i take the bus. no lasagna for christmas, sigh...

[nvcook]

I posted about this on another thread long ago. My mom used to always slice up hard boiled egg so that there was a slice in every piece served. It was excellent and I do that to this day also.

[mjhals]

JB- I'm glad this got split off into a food-focused thread, as there was no way I was about to chime in on the ettiquette one! But I have a question about the other ingredients you mentioned- specifically the ribs. How exactly do you incorporate those into your sauce? My husband said his grandma always put a bone in her sauce and she claimed that's why they liked it so much. I've never figured out what it was she did, so I'm interested in how you do it? Thanks!

[JuniorBalloon]

This got started because I had been reading about ragu recipes with pork neck bones. When I went to the store they didn't have any so I subbed with the ribs. I cut between the bones and make singles. I brown those in my dutch over with a bit of salt and pepper. Then I set them aside. I add them back in just before the tomatoes go in. Then they cook for 4 or 5 hours. By that time the meat falls off the bones and I fish them out.

jb

[mjhals]

Awesome- thank you so much, I'm definitely trying this as an addition to my bolognese sauce!

[JuniorBalloon]

This is not far from a dish that I make several times a year. There is always some left over Tortelini from dinner. Next morning I warm it up and crack some eggs into it. First time we tried this was in Tuscany in our rental. It was quite tasty and we now call it a Tuscan breakfast.

jb

[The Chowhound Team]

Sorry to interrupt folks, but JuniorBalloon's reply takes this portion of the discussion into Home Cooking territory. You'll find that discussion here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/747751 .

[Caroline1]

I suppose it all depends on how you use hard boiled eggs in a lasagna, but it doesn't sound good to me. I had an Indian buffet for lunch one day last week, and one of the curry dishes had whole hard boiled eggs in it, something I'd never seen before. I had some out of curiosity. My reaction was disappointment and I felt cheated. Why? Because hard boiled eggs, when left whole and unsliced, do NOT absorb flavor. They just sit in the sauce. The white MAY take on a bit of color, but for the most part it ends up being and tasting like a plain old hard boiled egg no matter what surrounds it. So to me that curry dish had huge voids in it that were filled by hard boiled eggs. I cannot imagine them in lasagna. And if left whole a la that Indian restaurant, it will be a very lumpy lasagna! '-)

[yfunk3]

Oh man, I LOVE putting hard boiled eggs in any curry (fried, runny eggs, too!). It's when you mix the curry and that creamy yolk (hard boiled or fried) flavor with the curry that gives it a whole new dimension! The white mellows out the curry flavors a bit and adds some new level to me. To each his/her own, though! :o)

[Pia]

yfunk3: This is off-topic, but just in case you haven't already had/cooked something like this -- my mom (we are Bengali) makes a stew that starts with hard-cooked eggs, fried in oil, and then adds potatoes, tomatoes, and spices. I love it. Here's a recipe I found online that looks pretty close (we don't put peas in ours though). http://panchphoron.blogspot.com/2008/...

[Caroline1]

Now, THAT sounds interesting! I've never come across fried hard boiled eggs before. I've bookmarked the recipe. Have you ever had it or do you know if it can be made successfully using ground saffron instead of turmeric? I'm allergic to turmeric, which is a pain because it' so good for you! Thanks!

[Pia]

Caroline, I can imagine a version that left out turmeric altogether and I think that could still work, but I think the taste would be completely different if you used saffron instead. If you're interested in trying the recipe, I'd suggest just omitting the turmeric. I bet there are other regional egg curry recipes too, some of which may not have turmeric.

I've also heard of, but haven't tried, Indonesian sambal eggs which I think are sometimes made with fried eggs but sometimes with eggs that are boiled and then fried. Here's a link so you can see what I'm talking about, although I have no idea if this recipe is authentic or good:
http://cheateat.typepad.com/blog/2004...

[yfunk3]

Ooh, thanks for this! Will have to try this on a special occasion (during a week when I haven't had eggs already since...well, I love them :o)!

There's this Chinese dish my parents used to make where you literally just deep fry a hard-boiled egg, and the outside would get like deep-fried tofu. For some reason, I just can't remember what else the dish had, as they haven't made it/I haven't had it in ages.

[Jay F]

"Meat, cheese, sauce, pasta and egg. What's not to like?"

Er....hard-boiled egg. I can't understand how a human being could put something in his mouth that tastes like, well, farts, to keep it polite.

All I'm really suggesting is that you ask your friends beforehand what each of them thinks of eating hard-boiled egg in lasagna, and not springing it on them at dinner.

[JuniorBalloon]

You are deffinitely not invited.

jb

[fredster1]

it is a question of personal taste. I personally adore hard boiled eggs and eggs in general. if you know your guests like them and you like them too, go ahead!

By the way Jay F, I am sure there is a food item you adore that someone hates as much as you hate hard boiled eggs. You would be insulted if the language they used was that strong, right? So ,leave farts outside of the conversation! LOL.

[Jay F]

fredster1: "By the way Jay F, I am sure there is a food item you adore that someone hates as much as you hate hard boiled eggs. You would be insulted if the language they used was that strong, right? So ,leave farts outside of the conversation! LOL."

Easy peasy, Fred. What other food smells like farts?

[yfunk3]

Broccoli.
Eggplant.
Microwave popcorn.
ANY cooked egg dish.
Foie gras.
Liver or paté of any kind, really.
Head cheese.
Cheeses of all kinds.

There's probably more. It's almost bed time for me... :o)

[Buffy Despres]

durian.

/thread

[fredster1]

None, and surely not hard boiled eggs! Next subject!

[coll]

They don't smell like farts if you don't overcook them!

[Jay F]

I'll keep that in mind the next time I cook them, which will be never.

[coll]

My SIL also thinks they cause the same, I had never heard that. And wish I hadn't either.

[Cathy]

Well. It does sound rich and heavy... the amount of ingredients, if divided evenly means each person will get about 3/4 pound as a serving.

I suppose the three meats, three cheeses, Bechamel, home made noodles and hard boiled eggs plus aromatics makes the dish almost overwhelming in flavors, where (in my mind) nothing will stand out. I would want to taste fresh egg noodles and think (again, in my mind) that I would not be able to differentiate your hard work from dried noodles.

I realize this is a separate issue than what you posted. I personally like pure and simple flavors and don't eat 'light' or anything like that. I would say the same if you did a meat and potatoes meal and added garlic to the potatoes. No need to cloud pure flavors...

[JuniorBalloon]

OMG! "added garlic to the potatoes" No garlic! We will have to agree to disagree here as I believe that potatoes were invented to put garlic on them. :) Roasted garlic mash potatoes are one of my favorites.

In truth I think you could easily overdo the egg thing. They will only be here and there, not in every bite.

jb

[Jay F]

"In truth I think you could easily overdo the egg thing. They will only be here and there, not in every bite."

If you are the kind of person to whom hard boiled eggs are disgusting, they predominate, and make the entire dish inedible. Would you consider eating the rest of something you first had to pluck turds out of?

[Karl S]

Probably there are lots of Americans who have issues with finding hard boiled eggs in things. The Italians use them in a lot of ways as an ingredient in dishes where eggs are not the star; for Americans, it's mostly in some sort of pasta or potato salad.