Do you like beets? No? Even just a little? If you’re a beet-doubter then I dare you to try this hearty, earthy, eggy breakfast. I have it almost every day nowadays, especially if I’ve worked out in the morning, and I’ve posted it on my Instagram a few times. Several people have asked for the recipe after seeing my (scrumptious, decadent, purple) creation on social media. So here we go.

Two beets, two eggs.

Submerged!

Parboiling is my new favorite thing.

I use my fork to slide the egg white over the top of the yolk for quicker and more even cooking.

Breakfast of Champions, on PhD Kitchen!

Let the beet drop:

• 2 eggs (any size, any bird–or 3 eggs if you’re really hungry)
• 2 beets in your favorite color, peeled and chopped
• The greens from those beets, or other greens to sub (I like swiss chard when I don’t have the beet greens, but you can use baby spinach, mustard greens, and so on), roughly chopped
• Parmesan cheese or similar (such as Pecorino Romano), grated
• Your favorite hot sauce or spice, to finish the dish (optional)

This dish doesn’t use any oil. Instead, we’ll parboil the ingredients by heating water in a frying pan on the stovetop.

First, pop the beets in the frying pan with enough water to just cover the top of the cubed pieces. Turn the heat on high. Once the pan begins to boil, keep an eye on the water level. The beets should cook through in about 5 minutes; you can check on them by testing with a fork. If necessary, add a bit more water to continue cooking them through (it will begin to boil again very quickly since the heat is on so high).

Once you’ve achieved your desired level of crunchiness for those beets, add the greens to the pan. Again, you may need to add a bit more water to ensure that the greens can cook down–this should take about 1-2 minutes.

Now, again ensuring that there is some water left in the pan, crack the eggs directly on top of the beets and greens. You’ll want the whites to cook through, but not the yolks: I use my fork to slide the egg white over the top of the yolk for quicker and more even cooking (see photo), and I sometimes press on some of the larger areas of egg white for the same reason. Once the whites are cooked, use a spatula to lift or slide everything onto a plate. This probably goes without saying, but: make sure that you’re cooking with just enough water so that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan, and drain off any excess before you plate it!

Finish the dish with grated Parmesan and some hot sauce. Mmm, championship.