My enthusiasm for eggs runs strong all year long. So it’s easy to forget that this supermarket staple has a season — unless you make a point to shop the region’s first farmers markets of spring.

While March markets’ fresh produce is still scanty — even supplemented with overwintered and stored crops — egg supplies are strong. And demand this year for locally raised eggs is likely to be even stronger amid stores’ soaring prices and purchasing limits in response to the rampaging avian flu.

I’ve always been grateful for local egg sources, from my own backyard flock to friends’ surplus, to farm stands and market vendors. For the past year, my family has been on the weekly egg list of a family-owned farm just a few miles from my neighborhood, where hens and roosters free-range around the dairy barns and garden.

The farmer recently confirmed that her flock has been healthy all winter. And she has high hopes that Jackson County — where just one case of avian flu in domestic poultry has been reported since last fall — will weather the epidemic with little impact.

Local eggs typically come with a higher price tag, but that gap is narrowing as grocers’ prices reflect the relative shortage nationwide of eggs. Will local farmers raise theirs in response?

Regardless, egg prices would need to rise much higher to disqualify these perfect little parcels of protein as one of the most economical animal sources. But I’ve been more conscientious lately about playing up the delicate texture, flexible flavor yet distinctive appearance of eggs. It’s an argument against mixing up too many batters, doughs and other recipes where eggs are merely a binder and pass largely unnoticed.

Eggs embrace fresh springtime produce, global spices

Give me quiche, frittata or another beaten egg dish for extending eggs’ appeal with spring’s tender greens and verdant herbs. But for occasions — and guests — that call for one or more whole eggs apiece, I like to broaden my spice palette and summon some inspiration from world cuisines.

An indispensable ingredient in Turkey, Lebanon and elsewhere in the eastern Mediterranean, plain yogurt keeps these baked eggs (also called shirred eggs) tender. A liberal dusting of sumac reflects the dish’s ethnic influence and also cuts the eggs’ richness with its citrusy tang.

Punching up the spinach with chiles, this “shakshuka” merges a traditional North African dish with Indian cuisine. If you’ve ever brought leftover palak paneer or saag paneer home from an Indian restaurant, and it just doesn’t look that appealing the next day, this recipe from the Los Angeles Times is the solution.

Although this stew of long-cooked spinach studded with cubes of the dense Indian cheese can be intimidating to the uninitiated, it’s become a family favorite since I started making my own last summer. Saag is the northern Indian variation and may include other greens. Both are available in frozen sections of many grocers, including Medford’s Food 4 Less and Trader Joe’s.

Paired with buttered toast, baguette or flatbread, these dishes, on my palate, aren’t just for breakfast and brunch. Prepared with veggies or a green salad, eggs almost effortlessly anchor easy weeknight meals.

Baked Eggs With Spinach, Yogurt and Sumac

2 tablespoons salted butter, melted

Big handful baby spinach leaves

8 large eggs

1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon grated sweet onion

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

4 slices good bread, for toasting

Ground sumac, for garnish

Arrange rack in center of oven preheated to 375 F. Set a large kettle of water to boil.

Generously brush 4 (6-ounce) ramekins with some of the melted butter. Line bottom of each dish with a quarter of the baby spinach. Crack 2 of the eggs into each dish.

In a small bowl, whisk the yogurt, onion and salt with 1 tablespoon water to make a sauce similar in consistency to heavy cream.

Spoon a couple tablespoons sauce over egg whites in each dish, avoiding yolks so they will stay a lovely bright yellow. Season each egg with a pinch of salt.

Place ramekins on a 2-inch-deep baking dish and place dish in preheated oven on center rack. Fill pan with boiling water to reach halfway up sides of egg dishes, taking care not to get any water in eggs. Bake eggs for about 15 to 17 minutes, or until whites are cooked and yolks are still bright yellow and jiggle when shaken. Toward end of baking time, toast and butter the bread.

Remove baking dish from oven and carefully remove each ramekin from hot water, drying off ramekins. Drizzle eggs with more melted butter and dust with the sumac. Serve immediately, placing each hot ramekin on a plate with buttered toast.

Makes 4 servings.

Recipe adapted from “Rose Water & Orange Blossoms: Fresh & Classic Recipes from My Lebanese Kitchen,” by Maureen Abood.

Indian Palak Paneer ‘Shakshuka’

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch dice
2 sweet bell peppers, preferably red and orange, cored and cut in 1/2-inch dice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 cups palak paneer or saag paneer
6 large eggs, at room temperature
2 Fresno or other mild chiles, thinly sliced, for serving
Cilantro sprigs, for serving

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, for about 5 minutes.

Add the palak paneer and 1/2 cup water. Cook, stirring, until mixture begins simmering. If mixture is too thick, stir in another tablespoon or two of water; it should be saucy. Crack an egg into a small bowl, then slide it on top of simmering mixture. Repeat with remaining 5 eggs, spacing them apart.

Cover skillet and cook until whites are just set and yolks are still runny, for 7 to 10 minutes. Whites and yolks will continue to cook as they sit in hot mixture. Remove from heat and top with the chiles and cilantro. Season eggs with salt and pepper and serve immediately with warm pita or naan.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.