Egg separated, whites to an oversized bowl for whipping impeccably free of oil, that means not a plastic bowl. Copper is best but not necessary. The whites are beaten to stiffness fortified with cream of tarter which stabilizes the foam. The yolks are kept whole. Should a yolk break, then put the broken yolk into a third bowl to be mixed into the nest.
The beaten egg whites are flavored and then mixed with the nest material of your choice also flavored, here frozen spinach with garlic, nutmeg, oregano, S/P.
As with a soufflé, a small amount of egg white is mixed with the sturdy vegetable to loosen the mixture. Then that loosened but still sturdy mixture is folded back into the remaining bulk of egg white foam. A thorough mixing is not necessary. The longer one folds and turns and blends, the more foam is destroyed. So it is a balancing act.
It occurs to me this can be done in bulk for a brunch or some group by spooning the nests onto a baking tray. It would probably work even better than as here in an oiled bowl.
The yolks can be added to the nest at any point during the cooking. Here, the yolks are raw but they don't have to be.
This version shown here lacks any cheese, another thing that could make the nests more substantial.
I am imagining a less foamy version of this where the cohesive egg whites are more like scrambled egg than soufflé. Possibly including egg yolks and some unbeaten whites. More vegetable and less foam including actual leafy vegetable and not chopped spinach.
ARTS !
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