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Braised & Deglazed

A source for recipes you can make at home - Chef Devan Cameron

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A Green Eggs and Ham Recipe with Spinach Purรฉe

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If you grew up loving Dr. Seuss as a kid then you’ve probably wondered at some point in your life if it’s actually possible to make green eggs at home. But the real question is not how do you make green eggs but how do you make a very green spinach purรฉe. In this green eggs and ham recipe, I’ll give you two ways to make this Dr. Seuss classic.

A recipe for green eggs and ham

Green Eggs and What?

For those who donโ€™t know who Dr. Seuss is, you’re probably very confused. It’s a popular children’s book that was one of my favourite books growing up and filled with very strange ideas including this funny recipe.

I wonder if it was part of some elaborate plan by Dr. Seuss to get kids to happily eat vegetables. It definitely worked on me as a child.

You donโ€™t have to know the book to try this recipe though. These eggs are super delicious, healthy and an easy way to sneak in some extra veggies into your breakfast.

It’s important to note that Dr. Seuss’s books have recently come under criticism for displaying racist imagery. It’s a good idea as a parent to correct anything you see as wrong in the book if showing to children. You can read more about that here.

How Do You Make Green Eggs and Ham?

There are two ways to do this right, the cheffy way and the easy way. Of course, the cheffy way is almost always the hard way…

The Cheffy Way

The first method is to make an intense spinach purรฉe and add this to the eggs right before cooking. I love making green purรฉes because it requires technique and skill to do it properly.

Making a proper spinach purรฉe requires a little extra time but the flavour is really nice and you can use the leftover purรฉe for other tasty creations like this:

  • Add into plain pasta at the last minute, just like you would with a pesto. The boring pasta will turn vibrant green!
  • Toss into grain salads.
  • Mix into a tahini dressing, cream fraรฎche, yogurt or mayo-based sauces for a little extra green goodness. 
  • Stir into cooked veggies like sweet peas or green beans to brighten them up. 
A bright green spinach puree for the green eggs and ham.

The Easy Way (and Also Quite Cheffy)

The easiest way to make this dish is to buy this green food colouring from Supernatural Foods and mix a little into your eggs at the last minute. You may even be able to add this powder to the ham to fully replicate the Dr. Seuss classic.

I like these natural food dyes because they’re made with real food ingredients and don’t contain any hardcore dyes and preservatives. They’re also non-GMO, gluten free, vegan, and certified kosher and contain no added sugar. They’ve got a whole bunch of cool colours that you can mix into smoothies, pancakes, burger buns, pasta dough or anything your heart desires.

The downside to using this green dye instead of making the spinach puree is that you won’t get the same tasty spinach flavour. Although that might actually be a good thing depending on who you ask.

To get more of the health benefits of spinach, you also could try this

Check Amazon Price

Another option is the Suncore Foods natural food colouring powders which sound great but their reviews for the green powder are not very good. They also use matcha powder for their green colouring which is great but very strong in flavour and won’t taste very nice with eggs. I don’t recommend using their green food colouring for this recipe but they still offer great food colourings for other options like cakes and cookies.

I’d go with the Supernatural Foods food colouring because the reviews are better and you can get a multipack for a pretty reasonable price.

If you’re interested, you can check the price on Amazon below.

Check Amazon Price

Whatever you do, don’t buy those horrible cheap food dyes you see in the grocery store because they’re just terrible.

Recipe with food colouring: Blend the eggs with the powder until as green as you like. Cook the eggs as you would normally.

Popeye Was Pretty Strong

The spinach purรฉe in this recipe is an easy way to add more vegetables to your diet. Spinach is a superfood after all and can help stabilize your blood glucose levels, reduces your risk of cancer, and helps with overall bone health. [1]

It is important to point out that because we boil the spinach for a long time we do lose some nutrition compared to eating it raw. But it’s still a lot healthier than using a cheap food dye.

Green eggs in the pan made using a spinach puree.

Canโ€™t I Just Blend the Spinach Raw?

You can but itโ€™s not the most effective for a few reasons. 

The main problem of just adding a bunch of raw spinach to the blender with the eggs is that the spinach still has a lot of water inside it. Nobody wants watery eggs…

The second reason is that if you donโ€™t cook the spinach thoroughly it can start to turn grey. We are going for vibrant green eggs and ham, not grey eggs and ham. 

When you boil (blanch) the spinach you break down the enzymes that turn the spinach green and are left with a vibrant, beautifully green spinach purรฉe that is sure to bring a smile to any chef’s face. 

Tips For Sucess

Here are a few quick pointers to nail this recipe:

  • Blanch the spinach to make nice green eggs or buy a quality food colouring. 
  • Dry the spinach as much as possible before blending with the oil. 
  • Donโ€™t let the purรฉe get too hot while blending, otherwise it can discolour.
  • Save the extra green purรฉe for pasta, veggies, sauces and dips.
  • If you want to add lemon juice to the purรฉe be sure to add it at the end otherwise it will turn the purรฉe grey. 

How to Store

Even when properly prepared, green purรฉes donโ€™t last that long. It will be safe to eat for up to 5 days in the fridge, but the vibrant colour will start to degrade after the first day.

You can easily freeze extra amounts in little jars or sealed containers for up to 6 months in the freezer.

Tools Needed

Stand Blender or Food Processor – You’ll need a high-powered stand blender or food processor to properly blend this purรฉe. The better the blender, the smoother the purรฉe.

If you don’t have a blender you could finely chop the green spinach after cooking and add this to the eggs but it won’t be as green.

Non-Stick or Cast Iron Pan – Having the right pan will cook your eggs nicely and prevent them from sticking to the pan and making a mess.

A recipe for green eggs and ham

A Green Eggs and Ham Recipe with Spinach Purรฉe

A green eggs and ham recipe inspired from the popular Dr. Seuss book. Made using a vibrant green spinach purรฉe to add colour, nutrition and a delicious spinach flavour to scrambled eggs.
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Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 2 servings
Calories: 610kcal
Cost: 10โ‚ฌ/$13

Equipment

  • Blender
  • Cast-iron skillet or non-stick pan

Ingredients

For the Spinach Puree

  • 400 g spinach
  • 100 ml olive oil
  • ยผ tsp salt
  • cracked black pepper
  • 1-2 pc ice cubes plus ice for the ice bath

For the Rest

  • 3 whole eggs
  • 3 slices ham
  • 1 tsp olive oil or butter

Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and get a big bowl of ice water ready beside it.
  • Cook the spinach (blanch) in the boiling salted water and stir frequently to keep it submerged in the water. Cook for about 3-5 minutes or until the spinach is completely soft and pulls apart easily.
    Boiling the spinach in a large pot of salted water.
  • Immediately refresh the spinach in the ice bath and stir until completely cooled.
    Refreshing the spinach in ice water.
  • Strain the cooled spinach from the ice water and squeeze out any excess water.
    Straining the cooked spinach.
  • Starting on low speed, blend the spinach with the oil, ice cubes, salt and pepper. Once the blender is properly pulling everything together, increase to high speed and blend for about 1 minute. If the blender won't spin, add more olive oil until it does.
    The finished spinach puree in the blender.
  • Add about 3-4 tbsp of the spinach puree to 3 eggs (about 1 tbsp per egg). Mix in a bowl and whisk together but don't season yet.
    Adding the spinach puree to the eggs in a bowl.
  • Heat the ham in a little butter or oil in a small pan and fry until warm.
  • Get a cast iron or non-stick pan to medium-low heat. Add the green egg mixture and reduce the heat to low. Stir frequently with a spatula until the eggs are cooked. Season with salt and pepper at the end.
    Mixing the green eggs in a cast iron skillet pan.
  • Serve immediately with the ham and enjoy!
    Green eggs and ham on a plate with a knife and fork.

Notes

You can save the spinach puree for up to 3 days in the fridge. It also freezes very well.
Salting the eggs at the end will make softer eggs.
Keep the spinach purรฉe cool at all times to prevent the colour from discolouring.
You can add lemon juice to the eggs if you like, but the colour will start to turn grey. Always add acidic things to green purรฉes at the end.
You don’t need to add oil to the pan when cooking the eggs because they contain enough oil from the spinach purรฉe.

Nutrition

Calories: 610kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 60g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 950mg | Potassium: 1239mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 18762IU | Vitamin C: 56mg | Calcium: 202mg | Iron: 6mg
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below!

This page contains Amazon affiliate links to products I recommend and I may earn a small commission if you purchase something. 

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Recipe Rating




Comments

  1. scot cameron says

    April 6, 2021 at 2:15 pm

    5 stars
    Love it – this should be on the menu every st. patrick’s day!!

    Reply
    • Devan says

      April 7, 2021 at 4:53 am

      Sounds good to me! Just need some green beer now…

      Reply

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If you're buying white asparagus, you might as wel If you're buying white asparagus, you might as well save the trim for something tasty like this ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐˜€๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฝ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฏ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ป ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜‡๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ป๐˜‚๐˜๐˜€. โฃ
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There's no better time than now to eat asparagus! There's no better time than now to eat asparagus! โฃ
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But how do you keep asparagus bright green after cooking? โฃ
The answer, plus a quick recipe for green asparagus with citrus mayo on the blog.โฃ
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Spinach purรฉe is an awesome way to add a little e Spinach purรฉe is an awesome way to add a little extra nutrition and flavour into a lot of foods. You can make this vegan, keto, gluten-free and dairy-free.โฃ
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Here are a few ways I like to use it:โฃ
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๐Ÿ‘‰ Add into plain pasta at the last minute, just like you would with a pesto. The boring pasta will turn vibrant green!โฃ
โฃ
๐Ÿ‘‰ Toss into grain salads.โฃ
โฃ
๐Ÿ‘‰ Mix into a tahini dressing, cream fraรฎche, yogurt or mayo-based sauces for a little extra green goodness.โฃ
โฃ
๐Ÿ‘‰ Stir into cooked veggies like sweet peas or green beans to brighten them up.โฃ
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Get the recipe here ---> Click on ๐—š๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—˜๐—ด๐—ด๐˜€ in my bio.โฃ
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#green #spinach #spinachlover #puree #greeneggs #veganfoodโฃ
#veggies #dairyfree #foodgawker #vegetarian #thefeedfeedvegan #
These blondies are so good I had to make them mult These blondies are so good I had to make them multiple times. โฃ
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The second time I experimented with adding a tbsp of miso (a la @chefsteps Chefsteps style) into the mix and it was surprisingly delicious. Highly recommend you try it.โฃ
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Give it a go ---> Link my bio
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