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Migas de Espargos com Ovos

Serves 4 to 6 Entree vegetarian

Migas de Espargos com Ovos

Migas de Espargos com Ovos is a beloved dish from the Alentejo region, where the countryside's bounty meets the simplicity of home cooking. It's a dish for any day when wild asparagus is at its peak, and there's leftover bread begging for new life. Born in Portuguese kitchens that waste nothing, it captures the region's resourcefulness and respect for ingredients, turning the humble into the remarkable.

The dish combines tender wild asparagus and chunks of day-old bread, enriched with garlic and sweet paprika, all bound together by generous olive oil. It offers a harmony of textures, from the soft eggs to the crisp edges of bread, each bite a comforting embrace of savory warmth. The saltiness is balanced by the earthiness of asparagus, making each forkful a delight.

Ingredients

  • 500 gwild asparagus — cut into short lengths
  • 300 gday-old bread — torn
  • 6 clovesgarlic — crushed
  • 6eggs — beaten
  • 120 mlolive oil
  • 1 tspsweet paprika
  • to tastecoarse sea salt

Method

  1. Begin by preparing the ingredients: trim the tough ends from 500 g of wild asparagus and cut them into 2-3 cm pieces. Tear 300 g of day-old bread into small, bite-sized pieces. Peel and thinly slice 6 cloves of garlic. Crack 6 eggs into a bowl and beat them lightly with a fork, adding a pinch of coarse sea salt to taste.
  2. In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet or frying pan, pour in 120 ml of olive oil and set the heat to medium. Add the sliced garlic and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until the garlic becomes fragrant and lightly golden, but not browned. This will infuse the oil with a rich garlic flavor.
  3. Add the asparagus pieces to the pan with the garlic-infused oil. Cook them slowly, stirring often, until they become tender and vibrant green. The asparagus should be soft but still have a slight bite to them, which usually takes about 5-7 minutes depending on their thickness.
  4. Once the asparagus is ready, add the torn bread pieces to the pan. Stir well to coat the bread in the oil and asparagus mixture, allowing the bread to soak up the flavors and soften. The bread should become slightly crisp on the outside while remaining soft inside.
  5. Sprinkle 1 tsp of sweet paprika over the mixture and stir to combine, ensuring the paprika is evenly distributed. Taste the migas and adjust the seasoning with more coarse sea salt if needed, keeping in mind that the flavors should be balanced and not overly salty.
  6. Reduce the heat to low and pour the beaten eggs over the bread and asparagus mixture. Stir gently, allowing the eggs to cook slowly and form creamy curds. Continue stirring until the eggs are just set and have a soft, creamy texture, which should take a few minutes.
  7. Once the eggs are cooked to your liking, remove the pan from the heat. Serve the Migas de Espargos com Ovos warm, directly from the pan, with additional bread on the side if desired. Enjoy this comforting dish as a true taste of Portuguese home cooking.
Cover of Authentic Portuguese Cuisine
From the cookbook

Authentic Portuguese Cuisine

This recipe is from Authentic Portuguese Cuisine by Yassine Sbiti — the Portuguese volume in the ComidaTime International Cuisines series.

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