Budget cooking: eggs
Stretching your last bit of money right before your salary is deposited can be a challenge. You still want to eat well, of course. We usually eat eggs for breakfast, but they can also make a great base for dinner. Dirt-cheap and incredibly delicious.
Frittata
A kind of Italian stuffed omelet that you can fill with whatever you like. Load it up with mushrooms and goat cheese, as in this recipe.
Tortilla
The Spanish make their eggs even more filling by adding potatoes (also cheap). This version is very basic, with just potato, onion and egg, but you can always add extra ingredients if you like.
Cilbir
Turkish eggs in a sauce of yogurt, melted butter and red pepper flakes. Traditionally eaten for breakfast, but they’re certainly no less delicious in the evening.
Egg drop soup
In this Chinese soup, drops of beaten egg are drizzled in and cook in the soup. The base is stock and egg, and you can add as many flavorings as you like. If your wallet is completely empty, just use things you already have at home; the only thing we’d never skip is the scallion. This recipe will get you started.
Carbonara
This classic pasta from Italy—Rome, to be precise—gets its wonderfully creamy texture from the egg. By stirring the hot spaghetti into a mixture of egg and Parmesan, the egg cooks and leaves a deliciously rich coating on every strand.
Shakshuka
In the Middle East, it’s eaten for breakfast, but we also love having it in the evening with some good crusty bread. You can’t go wrong with this recipe by Ottolenghi.
Eggs with tomato
This Chinese dish is perfect in its simplicity. It may sound boring, but just make it. FavorFlav’s Emma eats this at least twice a month—it’s that good.
Curry
With this Indian curry, you give your eggs loads of flavor, which is exactly what you want, of course. Add perfectly cooked rice and you’re all set.
Nasi goreng
Fry rice with Indonesian flavorings that you might already have at home. Add an egg and this dish is complete.
Noodle soup
This vegetarian noodle soup gets extra protein from a poached egg. Cooking the eggs in the broth gives them even more flavor.
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