Older eggs are so much easier to peel and are therefore ideal for recipes like this. If you choose to use fresh eggs, try waiting up to a week prior to using them. Vinegar can also be your friend! By adding a teaspoon of vinegar to the water when you boil the eggs, it will prevent the egg whites from running if your eggs happen to crack during the cooking process.
Go ahead and sprinkle some cinnamon onto the lettuce leaf to represent bird seeds!
Get more food art ideas here.
Create your very own barnyard
- Ingredients
- STep-by-step InSTRuctions
- 2 eggs
- 3 lettuce leaves
- 2 handfuls of fresh mint
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 cup of carrots
- 2 toothpicks
- 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise
- 4 raisins
- Salt
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 12 mins
Total cook time: 27 mins
Serves: 1
- Place the eggs in a medium-sized saucepan and cover them in water. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and bring water to a boil for approximately 10-12 minutes.
- While the eggs cook, prepare the rest of your ingredients.
- Cut the red bell pepper in half and discard the insides. Next, use a small knife to cut ridges in one of the halves.
- Take the other half of the red bell pepper and cut out two small oblong-shaped pieces. These will form one of the chicken's wings.
- Take 1 carrot slice and cut two ridges. Cut another carrot slice into a smooth and straight side. On that same piece, cut ridges into one side. These will form the left chick's appearance.
- Take two more carrot slices and cut them into two triangles. These will form the right chick's wings.
- Cut 1/4-inch strips from the remaining carrots.
- Once eggs are cooked, strain water from pan and run cold water over the eggs to stop them from cooking further. Peel off eggshells.
- Place one lettuce leaf inside the red bell pepper half with the ridges. Tuck it inside to form a lettuce bed. Place one hard-boiled egg inside the lettuce leaf.
- Place two drops of mayonnaise toward the top of the egg and place a raisin over each drop to form the eyes.
- Take a small triangle-shaped carrot and place it just below the raisins, in the center, to form the beak. You can secure the carrot beak with a toothpick.
- Use toothpicks to place two carrot triangles on the side of the egg to from the wings.
- Take a small knife and cut a slit into the top of the egg. Place the red bell pepper triangle into the slit, with the majority of the tomato piece standing up to create the chick's comb.
- Sprinkle 2 handfuls of mint on the plate.
- Place the chick sitting inside the red bell pepper on top of a portion of the mint.
- Place the remaining lettuce leaf on the other side of the mint, with a small portion of it overlapping the mint.
- Take the other hardboiled egg and lay it sideways. Secure the two triangle pieces of red bell peppers to the side of the egg with toothpicks.
- Take a small knife and cut one slit down the center of the top of the egg. Take the knife and cut another slit across the back of the egg.
- Take one carrot slice with the ridges cut in it and place it inside the slit at the back of the egg, with the ridges pointing up.
- Take another carrot slice with ridges and place it into the other slit down the center.
- Take two drops of mayonnaise and place them just below the vertically placed carrot. Place the two remaining raisins on top of the mayonnaise for the eyes.
- Secure a small triangle-shaped carrot just below the raisin eyes with a toothpick.
- Secure the two red bell pepper wings on each side of the egg with toothpicks.
- Spread a small portion of mayonnaise across the egg, above the raisin eyes, and place a small piece of chopped mint over the mayonnaise.
- Take the carrot slices and place them in a zig-zag along the remaining side of the lettuce leaf.
