It’s Game of Thrones season! Woohooooo. GoT is one of my favourite TV shows (probably my most favourite, to be honest); so I was pretty stoked when fellow nerd Marisa, of Miss Marzipan, started a three month Food of Thrones feature over on Instagram (see #foodofthrones2016). Although she initially invited foodie Instagrammers to make GoT themed dishes in the lead-up to the season premiere (check out her You Know Nothing Jon Snow Cone), a bunch of us got REALLY EXCITED – so Marisa decided to continue it throughout the season. 😀 Each week, she sets a theme for people to contribute to, and she will be developing an eBook at the end featuring some of the vegetarian meals. This will be downloadable after a small donation to charity.
I haven’t been able to participate every week, but enjoy seeing others’ creations. Here are the dishes I have contributed so far:
Hearty Chicken Casserole with Sweet Potato Dumplings: Dedicated to the Starks of Winterfell, who I imagine would have enjoyed this type of hearty fare… Before their lives were ruined. 😦 I may continue tweaking and put up the recipe in the near future.
Vegetarian Mushroom, Thyme and Hazelnut Porridge from Sarah Wilson’s Simplicious; for the men at The Wall (yeah ok, just Jon Snow really):
Rosy Chocolate Porridge, for Marisa’s theme of ‘magic’. It’s a nod to those characters who use ‘glamours’ to hide their true nature. In this case, I’m hiding the vegetables! Chocolate and zucchini porridge with fruit and a touch of rosewater. I’m planning to put a post up on kid-friendly porridge recipes soon.
Turmeric Hummus, for Marisa’s theme of ‘landscapes of fire and ice’. This one is for the vast sandy plains roamed by the Dothraki. Recipe coming soon!
But, getting to the point, I have been promising to share this recipe for Fiery Dragon Eggs, which I made for the theme ‘creatures of fire and ice’. Surely every foodie GoT fan has seen that meme of Daenerys with her dragon egg? “When you find the perfect avocado…”
You don’t need to be a fan of GoT to enjoy this meal, which is packed with good fats, veggies and protein. It’s also really easy to make (I feel like I’m always saying that! But I guess it’s because I’m into no-fuss cooking).
Fiery Dragon Eggs (aka Baked Avocado Eggs with Chilli Salsa)
Serves 4
- 2 large, ripe avocados
- 4 small free-range eggs
- 2 cups cooked quinoa*
- 2 cups sweet potato mash/puree, warmed**
- 1 long red chilli, finely sliced (optional if you don’t like the heat – or if you prefer more, go for a couple of smaller, hotter chillies)
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander stems, plus 1/4 cup coriander leaves, chopped
- 1 lebanese cucumber, finely diced
- 8-10 cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1 red or yellow capsicum, finely diced
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of 1 lime (alternatively use 1/2 a lemon, or 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar)
1.Preheat oven to 220 degrees celsius, and line a small baking dish with baking paper. I also filled the bottom of the dish with uncooked rice (the same rice I keep re-using as a pastry baking weight), to help stabilise the avocados.
2. Halve the avocados and remove the seeds. You may need to scoop a little of the avocado out to make the seed ‘hole’ bigger – save this to add to the salsa. Place the avocado halves in the baking dish.
3. Break an egg into a small cup, and carefully tip into an avocado half. Repeat with the remaining eggs and avocado halves. Season with salt and pepper, and bake for 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, combine the chilli, red onion, coriander, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and capsicum in a bowl. Add any reserved avocado if you have it. Add the olive oil and lime juice and stir to combine.
5. Distribute the sweet potato puree between serving plates, and scatter the quinoa over the top. Top with a baked avocado half, and serve with the chilli salsa. Add a dash of Tabasco if you like. 🙂
*I keep ziplock bags of cooked quinoa in my freezer, in 1/2 cup or 1 cup amounts. It defrosts well and is easy to add to curries, mixed lunch bowls, or breakfast porridge.
**I also keep a frozen stock of sweet potato puree; and also pumpkin puree in my freezer. I freeze it into ice-cube trays and flexible muffin trays; and then pop them out when frozen to store in ziplock bags in the freezer. Good for soups, baked items (including cakes!), smoothies, or as a side-dish.
Fiery Dragon Eggs (aka baked avocado eggs with chilli salsa)
Dreaming of Almonds (and a nicer world) 