Fried Egg, Ricotta Cheese, and Wild Arugula Open-faced Sandwich

Yet another sandwich post...Whay can I say? I love their easy preparation and convenience in eating.  They can be portable and eaten on the go when you are busy. They are also very easy to prepare and can be multiplied easily if you have to feed a small army.  They handy when you are in a rush and do not have time to prepare an elaborate meal.  They can either be dressed down or up depending on your mood :)

 I am also using wild arugula for this sandwich since I still have some arugula left over from my recent purchase at the Whole Foods.  They are fabulous in salad or used as green in sandwiches.  They a little more peppery than regular arugula which I really like.  This is the first dish that I have used ricotta with parmigiano reggiano and arugula since I usually use either blue cheese or goat in combination with other two ingredients.  Surprisingly they go well together considering that it is a lot milder in taste than blue or goat cheeses.

This recipe is not an original recipe but it is from this website.  Of course I have modified the recipe to suit my own taste and preference but I will post the original recipe. Coincidentally, I have also found a few sandwich recipes from this site as well as its affiliate websites that I am very interested in trying so be on the lookout for them in the coming days.  This and the rest of the sandwiches featured in that website are all easy to prepare with ingredients that are easy to find.  

To be honest, I've been eating this same sandwich for breakfast three days in a row.  The reason is not because I couldn't get the recipe right but because I could not get the pictures to come out the way I want them to.  So for the past three days, I have been preparing this same sandwich, photographing it, and then have it for breakfast... I do not mind, of course, since this is a great sandwich...hehehe... this batch of pictures is much better than the previous two batches...Ughhh, I really need to read that book that I purchased on how to take better food photography to improve my techniques. I am too lazy to read at times though... wish it comes in audio book format...

Ingredients:

4 slices of whole-wheat bread (I used bagel)

cooking spray

2 cups wild arugula

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt, divided

1/2 tsp freshly grounf black pepper, divided

4 large eggs

3/4 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

1 tsp thyme, chopped

1. Preheat broiler or toaster oven

2. Coat both sides of bread with cooking spray and broil for 2 minutes on each side or until lightly toasted.

3. Combine arugula, 2 tsp EVOO, lemon juice, 1/8 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Toss gently.

4.  Heat remaining EVOO in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Crack eggs into pan and cook for 2 minutes. Cover and cook for an additional two minutes or until egg whites are set.  Remove from heat.

5. Combine 1/4 tsp salt, ricotta, parmigiano reggiano, and thyme.  Spread over bread slices.  Divide salad and egg and place evenly over the bread.  Sprinkle remaining 1/8 tsp salt and remaining 1/4 tsp pepper over the eggs.

6. Serve immediately.

Recipe source: cooking light

Portabella, Baby Spinach, and Feta Cheese Frittata

Woke up tired and a little later than usual this morning... probably because I had coffee late last night which kept me awake until wee hours of the morning.  I was also having more pain than usual on my left elbow and hand that every little movement would jolt me back into a state of wakefulness...hmmm...is that even a right term? Oh, well.  If it isn't then who cares, right?  This isn't one of my grad school paper where every little grammatical and punctuation error is subject to a deduction....hehehe...As I was saying, I didn't get much sleep last night so I naturally woke up late and feeling tired this morning.  I had originally planned to make lasagna today but changed my mind as it requires more steps and prep work than I was willing to exert my effort on.

After getting up, I probably spent a couple of hours watching anime via crunchyroll.com. Anime is an animation style that originates from Japan.  I started watching Gintama today and surprisingly it sounds interesting.  This is only the second anime series that I have seen so far. The first one is Hunter x Hunter which, unfortunately, is still airing in Japan so I have to wait for more episodes to become available before I finish the series.  Although I have heard of and seen bits and pieces of an anime on my numerous visits to the Philippines, mostly due to the fact that my brother watches them, I have never really sat down and watch (on my own accord) an entire anime series until last week.  To my surprise, I entertained to the point that I couldn't wait to see the next episode.  It is not surprising , I guess since I am used to watching drama series (mostly Korean and some Taiwanese) for hours at a time.  What's more surprising though is the fact that my ears seem to have become acclimated to listening to the Japanese language...something that I had a hard time adjusting to when I attempted to watch Japanese dorama in the past.  Strange, isn't it?

Anyways, after a couple of hours my stomach started growling so I dragged myself off the bed and rummaged through the refrigerator's content after a quick shower.  I found different cheeses, fresh baby spinach leaves, portabello, some eggs, and milk so I decided to make frittata which is easy enough to make.  Frittata is an Italian egg-based dish that is similar to an omelette or a quiche.  The egg with addition of vegetables, cheese, and meat is usually cooked on the stove top just until the sides start to set then transferred to the oven to bake until the center is cooked.

Ingredients:

6 eggs
1 to 1 1/2 cups of fresh baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup sliced portabello mushroom
1/4 milk
1/2 cup feta cheese
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small shallot, finely chopped
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp parmigiano reggiano

1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, add eggs, feta cheese, and black pepper.  Beat to mix well.
3. Heat an oven-proof,  non-stick skillet over medium heat.
4. Add oil then garlic and shallot.  Saute until fragrant then add portabello and cook until softened.
5. Add spinach leaves and saute until it welts slightly.  Note: do worry if the spinach seems too much because the volume will be reduced significantly once it has welted.
6. Lower the heat to medium low and add the egg mixture.  Using a fork, stir the mixture slightly until the spinach and mushroom floats to the surface.
7. Continue to cook until the sides begin to set.
8. Sprinkle parmigiano reggiano on top then transfer to a preheated oven and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the center sets and is cooked through.
9. Remove from heat and cool slightly.