Eggs

The perfect poached egg takes nothing more than a microwave, a few ounces of water and one minute of your time. You can loft your puff of protein on a piece of toast or add it to a salad to bring to work for lunch, making it a delicious andutilitarian addition to multiple meals.

I've taken to making a microwave-poached egg or two most mornings. My "most important meal of the day" is finally a source of lasting energy for the day and not a mix of unhealthy grab-and-go's that don't further my nutrition goals.

Boiled eggs that start in cold water are hard to peel because the proteins in the egg white set slowly, which gives them time to fuse to the surrounding membrane. When you try to remove the shell, parts of the white cling to the membrane, and the surface of the egg is unattractively pockmarked. Instead of a cold-water start, we place cold eggs directly into hot steam, which rapidly denatures the outermost egg white proteins, causing them to form a solid gel that shrinks and pulls away from the membrane. The shell slips off easily to reveal smooth, unblemished hard-cooked eggs.

Why I Love Microwave Poached Eggs

Poaching a single egg in the microwave offers two key advantages: 

1.) It’s faster than boiling water on the stove. 

2.) It results in just a single cup to clean up afterwards.

In my opinion, it’s easier than poaching via stovetop. Those scraggly egg whites are contained and there’s no need to hover.

Steaming vegetables is a quick way to enjoy their inherent sweetness, and steaming eggs is the secret to perfect-as-possible jammy eggs. In this recipe, you don’t need a steamer basket for either. Cook the eggs in a covered skillet or pot of shallow boiling water, then layer winter squash, broccoli or cauliflower and dark leafy greens. The small amount of water will produce ample steam to cook the vegetables. Eat with plenty of sesame seeds for crunch and a yogurt sauce that is nutty from sesame oil and bright with lemon and ginger.

Shakshuka may be at the apex of eggs-for-dinner recipes, though in Israel it is breakfast food, a bright, spicy start to the day with a pile of pita or challah served on the side. (It also makes excellent brunch or lunch food.) It’s a one-skillet recipe of eggs baked in a tomato-red pepper sauce spiced with cumin, paprika and cayenne. First you make that sauce, which comes together fairly quickly on top of the stove, then you gently crack each of the eggs into the pan, nestling them into the sauce. The pan is moved into the oven to finish.

Make some instant ramen. Slide an egg into the hot broth, then some butter. Crown the steaming noodles with slices of American cheese. Scatter a bunch of toasted sesame seeds and chopped scallions across the top, if you want to. Hardly a recipe! But for the chef Roy Choi, who gave it to The Times in 2014, doctored instant ramen is a taste of Korean-American straight-from-the-bag soul food. The butter, egg and cheese help coat the ramen noodles and deepen their flavor. “It’s our snack, it’s our peanut butter and jelly sandwich, it’s our bowl of cereal,” Mr. Choi said.

Our pasta cacio e uova, or pasta with cheese and eggs, comes together quickly. We gently heated crushed garlic cloves in lard while the water for the pasta came to a boil. And while the fat became infused with the garlic's flavor, we stirred together Pecorino Romano, Parmesan, eggs, salt, pepper, and parsley. We drained the pasta and tossed it with the oil, which provided a subtly sweet, nutty toasted garlic flavor, as well as 1 tablespoon of the pasta cooking water and the egg-and-cheese mixture.

For a twist on standard fried rice, we don’t just scramble an egg or two into the mix. Instead, we “poach” a few in hollowed-out areas of the fried rice until the whites are just set and the yolks are deliciously runny. While the eggs cook, the rice forms a golden brown, nicely crisped bottom crust.

Eggah often is referred to as an Egyptian omelet or frittata. It can be basic and egg-centric or dense with vegetables, herbs, or even meat. Spices often are included in the mix, as well as baking powder to give the eggs a little lift. In this vegetarian version, crushed cumin seeds provide contrast in both texture and flavor against the sweetness of the carrots and sweet potato, and ground turmeric accentuates the golden color of the egg yolks and earthiness of the vegetables. As a final flourish, we make a tangy yogurt sauce to round out the dish.

This classic Turkish dish, called çilbir, nestles runny-yolked poached eggs in a creamy, garlic-spiked yogurt, then finishes the dish with a spice-infused butter. We also add a handful of herbs for fresh flavor and bright color. Aleppo pepper gives the infused butter a vibrant red hue and subtle heat. If you can't find it, use 2 teaspoons sweet paprika plus ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes. If you're hesitant to poach eggs, fear not. This method is simple and straightforward. The low sides of a skillet makes adding eggs to the water easier than with a high-sided pot.