5 Ingredients or Fewer

Fried Eggs With Fried Herbs

by:
September 11, 2018
4.5
6 Ratings
Fried Eggs With Fried Herbs
Photo by James Ransom
  • Prep time 5 minutes
  • Cook time 5 minutes
  • Makes 1 fried egg
Author Notes

I learned this nifty trick from the Olive Oil–Fried Eggs in Dinner: Changing the Game by Melissa Clark. You fry herbs in olive oil, then crack an egg on top so the two become intertwined, like sweethearts holding hands. In the original recipe, Clark uses sage. But the world is your herb garden. Play around and see what happens. Try snipped chives, torn mint or dill, or leaves of sage, oregano, or thyme leaves, even diced scallions. —Emma Laperruque

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, for pan-frying
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tablespoon fresh herbs (see note above)
  • 1 pinch flaky salt
Directions
  1. Heat a small skillet (not nonstick) over high heat. Add the oil. When it's hot and shimmery, add the herbs—they should sizzle. Lower the heat to medium-high (we don’t want the herbs to burn) and let them fry for a few seconds until they start to crisp. Now crack the egg onto the frying herbs. The whites should make a big fuss and immediately start to turn opaque. Some of the herbs will probably swim away from the egg; no big deal, just use a spoon to plop them atop the egg white. Fry the eggs—using a spoon baste them with olive oil—until the whites are firm and the yolks remain gooey. (If you want over-easy or over-medium, use a spatula to flip.) Sprinkle with flaky salt and serve ASAP.
Tags:

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Xime Tini
    Xime Tini
  • Christy Lam
    Christy Lam
  • Susanna
    Susanna
  • Eric Kim
    Eric Kim
  • Emma Laperruque
    Emma Laperruque
Emma Laperruque
Emma was the food editor at Food52. She created the award-winning column, Big Little Recipes, and turned it into a cookbook in 2021. These days, she's a senior editor at Bon Appétit, leading digital cooking coverage. Say hello on Instagram at @emmalaperruque.

Popular on Food52

14 Reviews

Xime T.
Xime T. July 14, 2020
Thank you!!! I tried this with Sage and it was amazing! But instead of oil, I used butter because I found that Sage and butter go very well together!
 
Christy L.
Christy L. May 8, 2020
I tried this for breakfast during the quarantine time, and it makes my day. Thank you for the recipe, it simply delicious.
 
Cookie16
Cookie16 September 29, 2018
Also cooked 2 eggs in this oil and found it was plenty. I love dill more than anything in the world (including most people) but have never fried it - much of the flavor was lost for me but the suggested squeeze of lemon helped. Not giving up on this but look forward to finding another combination that I’ll love. Chives sound divine!
 
Emma L.
Emma L. September 30, 2018
Yes, so into the squeeze of lemon idea! Hope you find an egg-herb combo you love.
 
Anonymous
Anonymous September 28, 2018
Always eager for a new but easy, everyday way to fix eggs, tried this and loved it! I have sage in my herb garden so I tried that! I cooked 2 eggs in that oil. Delicious!
 
Emma L.
Emma L. September 30, 2018
So glad you enjoyed!
 
Susanna
Susanna September 15, 2018
The only thing I might add—depending on the herb—is a squeeze of lemon juice atop the finished egg, as they do with olive-oil fried eggs in Greece...
 
Emma L.
Emma L. September 16, 2018
Mmmm! Love the sound of that.
 
Ttrockwood
Ttrockwood September 15, 2018
Do you just leave excess oil in the pan...? Seems like a lot to have with the one egg, like it would just make a puddle on the plate.
 
Emma L.
Emma L. September 16, 2018
You can, yeah! It's a generous amount of olive oil, but it's for the herbs and the egg—and they're both intended to get crispy.
 
Stephanie G.
Stephanie G. September 13, 2018
I did sage, thyme, and rosemary. It was yummy!
 
Emma L.
Emma L. September 13, 2018
Yay! All in one egg or separate?
 
Eric K.
Eric K. September 12, 2018
These are gorgeous, Emma.
 
Eric K.
Eric K. September 12, 2018
I may try w/ PARSLEY actually. Love the taste of fried parsley.