It was a gusty weekend throughout parts of Norway as storm Tor made an unwanted appearance. Our little valley seemed to escape its high notes, lending a great excuse to watch the local ski jumping competitions on Saturday with friends – and drink copious amounts of coffee – then stay in all day and do a light brunch on Sunday.

Our hens have been laying more and more eggs and, as such, have given measurable rise to the egg basket collection.  I can’t even begin to tell you how wonderful fresh farm eggs are. They have more flavor, more panache, and….well, I suppose they are the best because we have cared for, fed and raised these chickens while spending countless hours protecting them and ensuring the coop does not turn into a freezer as we hit minus temperatures. When you give love, you get love in return. And that’s the payoff. So, our simple brunch of a bed of Norwegian smoked salmon and carmelized leek turned into something a bit more rich and meaningful as we topped it off with our eggs and baked it lovingly in the oven.

Baked Smoked Salmon & Eggs (Røkelaks og Egg)

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 large leek, cleaned and sliced thinly
• 1 – 2 Tb butter
• 100g Norwegian smoked salmon
• 8 eggs
• freshly ground pepper
• 4 spoonfuls of buttermilk (or heavy cream or sour cream)

Butter the inside of 4 large ramekins to prevent sticking. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees celsius/ 425 degrees fahrenheit.

Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the leeks and sauté until soft and a bit sticky, around 10-15 minutes. Divide the cooked leeks into each ramekin.

Cut the smoked salmon into thin strips and divide among the ramekins, placing them on top of the leeks.

Top each ramekin with 2 eggs by cracking them, being careful to keep the yolk intact (depending on the size of your ramekin and eggs, you may only need 1 egg). Add a spoonful of buttermilk over the top and bake in the oven until the egg white has set and the yolk is to your liking, 8-12 minutes.

Sprinkle lightly with the freshly ground pepper and a few leaves of fresh thyme. Serve hot with freshly baked bread.