Eggs are probably my favourite breakfast dish as they are so quick and easy to prepare and very versatile. This dish might take a little longer than your average egg dish but it is well worth the wait.
'Italian
Eggs' might not necessarily be the correct name for this delicious
dish, but I didn't want to call it 'Baked Eggs' since for this recipe
I don't bake them but keep them on the top of the oven. That being
said, if you prefer you could easily finish this dish off in the oven
so that you can get on with other things while the eggs cook.
Regardless
of how you cook the eggs what you end up with is a deliciously tangy
and slightly spicy tomato sauce which becomes a silky smooth bed for
cooking the eggs on, until they are just cooked with perfectly runny
yolks which once broken dribble and ooze into the sauce. Finished
with some fresh basil and plenty of bread of your choice for dipping
in and mopping up and you have the most delicious egg dish perfect
for breakfast, lunch or even a light dinner.
Serves
4
1 tbsp
olive oil
2
cloves of garlic, crushed
1 x
28oz (or 2 x 400g) tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tsp
sugar (optional)
½ –
1 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional but if using add as much or as
little as you like depending on how hot you like things)
Salt &
freshly ground black pepper
4
organic large eggs
scattering
of fresh basil leaves
Bread
of your choice for dipping
In a
frying pan, heat the olive oil then add the crushed garlic and cook
for a minute being careful not to brown. Add the tomatoes, sugar,
chilli flakes, salt and pepper and stir well. Bring to a boil then
reduce the heat slightly and leave to simmer for roughly 20-25
minutes until it has reduced slightly. Taste to check the seasoning
and adjust if necessary. Stir in about half of the basil leaves then
lower the heat so that it is just gently simmering, then carefully
crack in the eggs. Cover with a tight fitting lid and leave to cook
for roughly 3-4 minutes until the eggs are just cooked but still with
a runny yolk.
As
soon as the eggs are ready remove the lid to stop the cooking and
sprinkle over a good pinch of sea salt and if you like a grinding of
pepper. Finish with a final scattering of basil then serve in shallow
bowls with plenty of bread or toast to mop everything up with.
*If
you would like to make individual servings like the one pictured
(which is what I do 99% of the time) simply make up the sauce as
above then transfer ¼ of it to a small individual sized frying pan
(keep the rest of the sauce for another day – unless you have 4
small pans and are doing it for presentation purposes!). Once the
sauce is simmering follow the instructions as above then serve in the
pan on a chopping board to protect your table from the heat!
What a tempting and colourful dish. Love the individual version - it's so class and certainly beats eating an individual frozen dish if on your own! Pretty basil to complete. Get well soon, Lyndsey.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Jill - I hope you are well! :)
DeleteOh my goodness. This gets put right into the "Brinner aka breakfast for dinner" recipe list for sure. :) yum!
ReplyDeleteHa ha! Thank Jess - I know what you mean, it's great any time of the day! :)
DeleteI love eggs too! These look perfect for when I want breakfast for dinner.. yum
ReplyDelete