Joes Special Recipe
- 6 large eggs
- Splash or two of Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt or more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil or oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly milled black pepper or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 pound lean freshly ground beef, preferably chili grind (a bit coarser than hamburger grind)
- 3/4 to 1 pound fresh spinach, preferably the crinkly savoy variety, trimmed of stems and chopped, or one 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- Crack the eggs into a small bowl and add the Tabasco, salt, basil, and pepper. Whisk just enough to combine; you should still see large bubbles. Set aside.
- Warm the oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat until the butter melts. Add the onion and sauté until soft but not beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the ground beef and continue cooking until uniformly brown, breaking the meat into small pieces as it cooks. Cover with the spinach, place a lid over the mixture, and cook for about 3 minutes, just until the spinach wilts. (If using frozen spinach, cook, covered, for 1 minute, just to take off its raw edge.)
- Stir the spinach into the meat, cooking briefly to eliminate excess liquid if the mixture seems watery. Pour the egg mixture over all, stirring with a spatula from the bottom until the eggs begin to set. Remove from the heat and stir a few more times, as the eggs cook through from the residual heat. Serve immediately.
