Kale and Butternut Squash Bowl With Jammy Eggs

By Ali Slagle

Updated February 15, 2024

  • Dane Tashima for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Erika Joyce.
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Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(589)
Comments
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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. The sauce is endlessly adaptable; add fresh or dried herbs or chile, ground or toasted spices, toasted coconut and more.

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Ingredients

Yield:2 servings

  • 3 large eggs

  • ¾ cup plain, full-fat yogurt

  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest plus 2 tablespoons juice (from 1 lemon)

  • 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger

  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

  • Salt

  • 12 ounces butternut, honeynut or kabocha squash, seeds removed and sliced ½-inch thick

  • 8 ounces broccoli, cauliflower or a combination, cut into 1-inch florets; stems, thinly sliced

  • 4 ounces (about 4 packed cups) torn kale leaves, or another hearty green like chard or mustard

  • Toasted sesame seeds (any color), for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)

29 grams carbs; 291 milligrams cholesterol; 308 calories; 5 grams monosaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 15 grams fat; 6 grams fiber; 1205 milligrams sodium; 18 grams protein; 11 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large (12-inch) skillet with a lid or a large Dutch oven, bring 1 inch of water to a boil over high. Carefully add the eggs. (They may not be fully submerged and that’s OK.) Cover and boil for 6 minutes. Transfer the eggs to a bowl to cool. Pour off all but ¼ inch of water.

  2. Step 2

    While the eggs steam, in a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, stir together the yogurt, lemon zest and juice, ginger and sesame oil; season with salt. It might taste too puckery at this point, but it will balance out when on the vegetables.

  3. Step 3

    Arrange the squash in a single layer in the shallow water; season with salt. Cover, bring to a boil over high, and cook for 5 minutes. Scatter the broccoli on top of the squash, season with salt, then pile the kale on top of the broccoli and season with salt. If the water has evaporated, add another ¼ inch of water. Cover and cook until the squash is tender and the broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Turn off the heat but keep the skillet covered while you peel the eggs.

  4. Step 4

    Peel and halve the eggs, then season with salt. Divide the vegetables and eggs between plates, then drizzle with plenty of sauce and scatter sesame seeds on top. The vegetables, eggs and sauce will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge and are good warm, room temperature or cold from the fridge.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
589 user ratings
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Comments

Gail

This recipe is a keeper with a few tweaks: roast the butternut squash slices for about 20 minutes at 425’. It’s nice to have the textural contrast between roasted veggies and the steamed broccoli and chard; 6 minutes is too long to achieve truly “jammy’ eggs. More like 3-4 minutes. Serve over quinoa or other whole grains. Be generous with the dressing - its delicious!

Joanna

Like most gen x-ers i had my fill of boiled/steamed veg roughly 40 years ago. While this is delicious I recommend the following modification. Roast the squash and cauli/broccoli with olive oil salt and PEPPER at 400 for 25 or so minutes. Add salt to the water and steam your green leaves after the eggs come out. The flavors are 10x better this way.

michelle

I broke all the rules: Roasted acorn squash. Braised my greens. Had left over hard boiled eggs. Used curds and kefir instead of yogurt. Added candied ginger to the dressing. No matter how hard I tried I could not ruin this recipe. Amazing. Repeater.

Cam in AMS

A surprisingly tasty bowl - the sauce doesn’t sound like much, but it really hits! Like many others, I roasted my squash and broccoli (with some garlic pepper and seasoning salt) and was very pleased with the result. I made farro to go with, and mixed finely chopped kale in with the cooked greens and let them sit for a minute, which was a nice preparation, and the wilt of the kale, chew of the farro berries matched the roasted veg very well. For two, I roasted 400g squash, 200g broccoli with 25g olive oil. 150g (dry) farro got cooked, then mixed with 80g kale, and I kept the sauce proportions exactly as written. Perfect!

Kris W

Agree with the others here, roasted the veggies adding the kale at the end. Brown rice and over easy egg for win! Colorful, zesty, and suitable for guests.

Tom Southall

No one in my house likes kale. Would spinach work instead? I see someone suggested napa and said it worked fne.

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