A Heap of Unused Basil Led Me to My New Favorite Fried Eggs

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Summer weather invites me to start my day with fruit, shakes, or delicate poached eggs, but now that it's getting cooler, I’ve been running it back to your classic oily fried eggs. The crispy, chewy edges and runny yolk never need companions, but since nearly everything is improved with eggs, you can use them to help out other ingredients. That’s how Caprese fried eggs were born. 

This week I had a major run-in with an ridiculous amount of basil. Similarly to my celery problems, I often need just a small bit of basil for a particular recipe. Unfortunately, the grocery store only sells entire plants or big plastic containers of the stuff. I needed a follow-up dish to deal with the excess. Something that could use a massive quantity of fresh basil, about a cup, without making me feel like I was a cow grazing a field. So I made Caprese fried eggs.

Caprese fried eggs are a spinoff of the refreshing, cold Caprese salad—a mixture of raw tomatoes, fresh mozzarella di bufala, and basil. I use the essential components, but upend it all with aggressive heat to achieve tantalizing frico cheese, and burst the tomatoes. It’s not the prettiest of dishes (especially since one of my yolks broke), but when the flavor is right, looks don’t matter.

How to make Caprese fried eggs

To make Caprese fried eggs, swirl a half-tablespoon or so of oil into a frying pan over medium-low heat. Toss in a huge handful of basil and wilt it down for 30 seconds. I had a heaping cup of loosely packed leaves and they shrank down quickly. Sprinkle in some shredded low-moisture mozzarella to start building your frico crust. I only had string cheese today. It’s not buffalo mozzarella, but one does what one must. Even if I did have fresh cheese, it’s tough to frico that sort because it contains so much water. Try to opt for something drier, like parmesan, if you don't have low-moisture mozzarella.

Once it starts melting and sizzling, scatter in chunks of ripe tomato and crack two eggs over top. I added a drizzle of more oil around the edges of the pan and a heavy pinch of salt all over the eggs before flipping the concoction. Cook the eggs to your desired doneness. 

The finished dish is vibrant in color, bursting with sweetness and acid from the tomatoes, and bright licorice from the basil. I love getting a forkful of stretchy, slightly crisp cheese along with the wilted basil. It shares some of the textural qualities of spinach, but with more integrity so the flavor does more work for the dish as a whole. The only thing I recommend adding is a crusty hunk of buttered toast to carry these last bites of summer.