Don't Overlook Zucchinis For The Ultimate Egg Bake

Egg bakes come in many shapes, sizes, and incarnations, brimming with imaginative ingredients in a glorious bake-off of flavor and finesse. But there's one ingredient that's often overlooked in this egg pairing. It's the speckled squash king of summer and early autumn: the humbly prolific zucchini. It looms large in supermarket bins, making it a good candidate for cozy breakfast, brunch, or even dinner egg bakes. However, the egg bake we're talking about uses a less-common zucchini shape known as the eight-ball or round zucchini. It's like a miniature pumpkin in appearance, complete with a stubby stem, anatomically known as a peduncle. These chubby little veggies come in hues of dark green or sunny yellow, and are ideal bowl-like vessels for an ultimate egg bake. 

Slice off the top of the eight-ball zucchini and scoop out the whitish inside flesh, then oven-bake the round shell until soft, usually 10 to 15 minutes. While it's baking, chop up the removed squash flesh and toss it with your favorite complementary ingredients. Some ideas include diced tomatoes, onions, celery, bell peppers, fresh corn kernels, diced ham, basil, premade chunky salsa — anything goes. Then comes the fun part. Layer the mixture inside your cooked zucchini "bowl," alternating with a soft cheese, such as chèvre or cream cheese. The crowning glory will be a raw egg, which spreads, cooks, and nestles firmly in place during a final round of oven baking. 

If eight-ball zucchinis are unavailable, adapt the same process using standard long zucchinis. Slice them in half lengthwise and scoop out the center flesh, similar to standard stuffed zucchini boats but with egg as the core ingredient. The hollowed canoe-like boats will cradle the soft cheese and other ingredients. With much less space than eight-balls, try a simplified mixture of cream cheese, fresh corn kernels, and a few tablespoons of bread crumbs, and topped with beaten raw egg then baked. Serve with fresh salsa for spooning over the baked zucchini boats.

Another whimsical egg bake presents in the form of a zucchini egg nest. You'll create the nest out of spiralized or grated zucchini strands. Zucchinis have a surprising 94% water content, so it's best to pat off as much liquid as possible. Use paper towels beneath and above the grated strands to absorb the moisture. Then, assemble your zucchini bird nests on a lightly oiled pan, crack a whole egg into the center, bake for about 15 minutes, and top with a tasty cheese melt. Season and garnish as desired.

Finally, there's a variation of the egg-in-a-hole, also known as Popeye egg or egg-in-a-basket. But there's no toast or bread involved, with the "hole" created instead by thick, hollowed-out zucchini slices. The bigger the zucchini, the better. Just crack the egg inside the hole, bake, and smother in melted cheese.