Long-Cooked Hard-Boiled Eggs with Spinach

Recipe by Joan Nathan from King Solomon's Table (Alfred A. Knopf). Reprinted with permission from Joan Nathan

The Passover seder plate includes a roasted egg, an ancient symbol of life, birth and mourning the destruction of the ancient Holy Temples of Jerusalem. Ashkenazi Jews often eat hard boiled eggs as part of the seder. This recipe for Sephardic-style long cooked eggs, prepared on the stovetop, is from Joan Nathan's King Solomon's Table. The rich, smoky eggs turn a golden hue and are served over spinach cooked until creamy in the cooking liquid from the eggs. The eggs can also be prepared and served on their own. Nathan first enjoyed these eggs in Rome and credits Daisy Dente Modigliani for sharing the recipe. Edible Boston is grateful to Joan Nathan, the James Beard-award winning author of numerous cookbooks including Jewish Cooking in America, for permission to share this recipe with its readers, a delectable dish that is sure to become a favorite new seder tradition.

Yield 12–16 servings

12–16 large eggs, preferably fresh from a farmers market
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large (about 225 grams) red onion, peeled and coarsely chopped (1½ cups)
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1½ pounds (680 grams) spinach, fresh or frozen (thawed and drained if frozen)

Put the eggs in a cooking pot and add water to cover by about 2 inches. Then add the olive oil, onions, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Cool and remove the eggs with a slotted spoon. Tap the eggs gently against the counter and peel under cold running water, keeping them as whole as possible.

Return the peeled eggs to the pot with the seasoned water and simmer very slowly uncovered for at least 2 hours, or until the water is almost evaporated and the onions almost dissolved. The eggs will become dark and creamy as the cooking water evaporates and they absorb all the flavoring.

Remove the eggs carefully to a bowl, rubbing into the cooking liquid any of the cream that forms on the outside. Heat the remaining cooking liquid over medium heat, bring to a simmer, and add the spinach. Cook the spinach until most of the liquid is reduced, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, about 30 minutes, or until the spinach is creamy and well cooked. Serve a dollop of spinach with a hard-boiled egg on top as the first part of the Seder meal or as a first course of any meal.

Note: To see if the eggs are really boiled, removed one egg from the water and spin it on a flat cutting board. If it twirls in one place, it is hard-boiled. If it wobbles all over the board, it is not cooked yet and the weight isn't distributed evenly. The easiest way of peeling a hot hard-boiled egg is to put it under cold water between your hands and rub it quickly until it cracks, then peel under the running water.