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Baked Eggs may be the apex of all the eggs-for-dinner recipes. That is – when they’re done right. There are quite a few recipes for baked eggs out there. Unfortunately I’ve found problems with quite a few of them. If you want to succeed with my version you’ll need an extra-large, tug-boat of a sweet potato. Mine weighed 2 lbs (well 1.802). After all, it’s intended to be a meal. A meal for two on chilly autumn evening. However there’s another reason I suggest a monster sweet-potato for this Sweet Potato Baked Eggs with Prosciutto recipe.

As I said, I have a problem with many versions of baked eggs. Sure they’re the ultimate comfort food and we all love making them – in theory. However, baked eggs in general are trickier than you’d think. These Sweet Potato Baked Eggs are no different.

How many recipes for baked eggs have you tried that were utter failures? Quite a few I bet. I often end up with undercooked whites that gross me out, or overcooked yolks I wouldn’t feed a ferret. It seems you need a magic oven to get a baked egg with a perfectly cooked white and a luscious runny yolk.

By runny, I want you to know, I mean runny. I don’t mean soft. I mean runny. I’ve heard all the excuses explaining my failures from all sorts of reliable sources: Cover the dish. Don’t cover the dish. Use a water bath. Your oven is too cold. Your oven is to hot. Don’t use chilled eggs. Irradiated (I mean pasteurized) eggs won’t work… blah, blah, blah.

Sweet Potato Baked Eggs In a Tug-Boat of a Vessel

Well I’m going to add another excuse to the list. One that I have never heard discussed before: Your vessel is too small.

Well this cook doesn’t like to hear that his tug-boat is too small. But, if it’s true then I need to face the fact. Because common sense tells us that we’ll get softer yolks if the egg whites cook faster than the yolks. A large vessel allows the egg whites to spread out and cook quickly. If it works in a frying pan, why shouldn’t it work in the oven?

My method for Sweet Potato Baked Eggs is not the only way to bake an egg, but it works for me. A tug-boat-sized sweet potato gives the egg white room to roam. There you go. I hope that’s the last time we have to discuss my vessel size. GREG

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Sweet Potato Baked Eggs with Prosciutto 

By: Greg Henry

Print This Recipe Total time Yield 2Published November 2, 2015

Ingredients

• 1 extra-large sweet potato (at least 1 ½ lb)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (as needed for seasoning)
• 2 slice prosciutto
• 2 large eggs (at room temperature)

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Directions

Set the oven rack in the center position, then heat oven to 450 degrees F.

Slice the potato in half crosswise. Rub all surfaces with olive oil and season the cut side with salt and pepper. Lay the potato halves onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, cut side down. Season the skin side with salt and pepper. Place in the heated oven to roast until the skin begins to brown and the flesh becomes quite soft, about 30 to 40 minutes, depending on size.

Remove from oven and leave the oven on. Flip the potatoes to sit cut side up. You may need to press them lightly, creating a flat bottom, so that they sit as level as possible. Let cool slightly then use a spoon to scoop out some of the flesh, creating a large well about 1‑inch deep in each half.

Line each well with a slice of prosciutto, letting it overhang the sides where possible. Return the potatoes, still on this baking sheet, to the heated oven. Roast another 8–10 minutes, or until the prosciutto begins to get crisp. 

Remove from oven, leaving the oven on. Crack one egg into each prosciutto-lined well keeping the yolk intact. Season with salt and pepper, return to the heated oven until the egg whites are mostly opaque, but the yolk is still runny, 8–10 minutes or according to taste. Because the potato retains heat, eggs will continue to cook after you remove it from the oven, so it is best to undercook it slightly. 

Remove from oven and let rest on the baking sheet about 4 minutes. Serve warm.

Sweet Potato Baked Eggs