Shared by Hedai Offaim
Shared by Hedai Offaim
Eyerlekh Mit Tzvible (Eggs With Onion)
Yield: 4 - 6 servings
Eyerlekh Mit Tzvible (Eggs With Onion)
Yield: 4 - 6 servingsFamily Journey
Ella Valley, Israel
This recipe was shared by Hedai Offaim. Read more about his family in "How Hedai Offaim Keeps His Grandmother’s Shtetl Recipes Alive."
Ingredients
- 3 medium russet potatoes
- 3 large yellow onions
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- Fine sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 large eggs
- 3 scallions, white and light green parts only, cut into ½-inch pieces
- Smoked fish like white anchovies, for serving
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Pierce the potatoes several times with a paring knife or fork and wrap each tightly in foil. Bake the potatoes until tender, about 1 hour. Set aside in the foil until cool enough to handle.
Step 2
Meanwhile, slice the onions into ¼-inch rings and separate the pieces. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the onion rings to the skillet and sauté until golden, flipping once with tongs, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the onion rings to a large bowl. Add the garlic to the skillet and cook until golden, about 1 minute. Transfer to the bowl with the onions. Let the oil cool slightly, then drizzle it over the onion mixture, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
Step 3
Meanwhile, remove the eggs from the refrigerator half an hour before cooking to bring them to room temperature. Bring a small pot of water that will just cover the eggs to a boil. Reduce the heat to a steady simmer and gently slide the eggs into the water. Simmer the eggs for 7 to 8 minutes until the yolks are just set. Remove the eggs from the heat and shock them in cold water to stop the cooking process.
Step 4
To assemble the dish: Remove the potatoes from the foil and break them into large bite-sized pieces with your hands. Add the potatoes to the bowl with the sautéed onion mixture and toss to coat. Peel the eggs and cut them once lengthwise and once crosswise into quarters. Add them to the bowl with the onions and potatoes. Fold in the scallions and season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature with smoked fish.
Step 5
*Cooking this recipe is all about timing. As the potatoes cook, be sure to move on to steps two and three.
When Hedai shared this recipe with us, he included a note saying that there’s not a word in the name of this dish in Yiddish about the potatoes that make up much of the recipe. Maybe, he adds, “because in eastern Europe it was very hard to imagine life without them and there’s just no need to mention them, as you wouldn’t write in a recipe: Air.” At Rivka’s table, the dish was always served with vodka nearby, perhaps to burn the bacteria of the eggs. And it was always doted on. Some believe, according to Hedai, that the expression, “oy, oy this is so good,” was born out of reactions to this dish.
