Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce, On Toast {make this now}

I’ve started to use this phrase {make this now} more often on the blog rather than just in conversation. We’ve all experienced this “omg, this is amazing….” type of revelation for particular dishes. When the sensations hit just right on the tongue or when that “wow” moment hits the palette, I can’t help it but to tell everyone to make this now. Thus, the method to my madness when I say {make this now} because when I’m blown away at at how simple and delicious and recipe can be, I can’t help it but scream it out loud. Previously, I said the same thing about this thai iced tea recipe and so many of you really did {made this now}. This makes me so proud.

Simple poached eggs by simmering in bubbly-hot tomato sauce, then smeared over a grilled piece of bread is life changing. I’ve been hitting myself in the head over since I made this because I can’t believe this dish snuck under my hungry-radar all these years.

Where have you been all my life, dear poached eggs in tomato sauce… on toast? You are so freaking good.

How much more perfect can this simple concept be? The rich tomato sauce, nurturing the egg-poached-heaven is a match made in food-perfection. Add the third factor, crispy grilled bread, and all of a sudden, this trilogy now becomes a great breakfast or brunch. Oh what the heck, make it for dinner. Add a salad on the side and you’ll be whimpering like I did and ask, “why haven’t I made this before?!”

The best part about this madness is that you can add so many other ingredients to it to hearty-it-up. I’ve seen versions with kale, chickpeas, and ground chicken. Do what ever you want to it because for now, it’s all yours to play with.

For me, the most important (and hardest) part is timing the egg so that it becomes the poached texture that you like. Walk away from the stove for to long too check email, and what you will have a is a firm, boiled-like, yolk center. Become too impatient and turn off the heat too soon and what you will have are egg whites that are too runny. So make it a few times to get a feel for how long it takes to make your poached eggs perfect.

Alas, I’m already hungry again as I write this post. I’ll have to make it again soon and maybe next time, I’ll just dive my toast (crusty end first) into the tomato sauce and kill the poached egg in one quick swoop. Yum. Yum. YUM.

enjoy!

diane

Yield: 4 servings

Total Time: 30 min

The important part is timing the egg so that it becomes the poached texture that you like. Walk away from the stove for too long to check email, and what you will have a is a firm, boiled-like, yolk center. Become too impatient and turn off the heat too soon and what you will have are egg whites that are too runny. So make it a few times to get a feel for how long it takes to make your poached eggs perfect.

You can add so many other ingredients to it to hearty-it-up. I've seen versions with kale, chickpeas, and ground chicken.

two - 14 oz. cans of crushed tomatoes or your favorite tomato sauce4 large eggs3 Tablespoons butter1 small onion, minced3 cloves garlic, minced1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce1/4 teaspoon cumin1/2 teaspoon sugar1/4 cup chopped parsleyadditional salt and pepper to tastegrilled bread or toastHeat large saucepan on medium heat. Melt butter, then cook onions and garlic till soft.Add crushed tomatoes with juices (or tomato sauce), Worcestershire, cumin and sugar. Stir till everything is combined well. Bring the sauce to a low boil, then reduce heat to low.Stir in the parsley and simmer the sauce on low heat for about 10 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally.Crack the eggs into the tomato sauce, then cover the pan. Poach the eggs in the sauce for about 5-8 minutes, or until the whites are set and the yolk is still runny.Spoon the egg and tomato sauce over toast. Or serve the egg and tomato sauce in a bowl and dip with the toast. Serve warm.

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Baked Eggs in Avocado with Bacon on Toast

Wait, don’t click away yet. Hold on to that thought. Allow me to explain this dish to you before judge a warm avocado meal.

I know, it may sound awkward to be spreading hot avocado on toast, dripping with egg yolk and scattered with bacon bits. It may even sound blasphemous to some of you who are avocado purists. Why ruin a sacred Hass avocado, that’s perfectly ripe, buttery and creamy with oven-heat and egg? I know, I know, but read on….

On Sunday I was staring at four perfectly ripe avocados. The standard, but always favorite, homemade guacamole came to mind for lunch. Or even more indulgent, avocado egg rolls. The end of January is coming to a close (do you believe this?!), many of us have gone off-tangent from our 2013 health goals, so I decided to just blow away the rest of January with a two-thousand calorie meal. Why not? I was feeling mighty daring.

I asked twitter and facebook what to do with the avocados and all you amazing people came to my rescue with some incredible ideas. Inspired to make the most out of my stash of avocados, I also turned to the CA Avocado Commission recipe index to find more recipe inspiration.  One of the first recipes I came across was for this Avocado bacon and eggs recipe.

It had my favorite three ingredients but as I read further, I found out it was baked. Baked? BAKED?

The thought of eating a baked avocado didn’t sound appealing. But after looking at the recipe further, I was imagining what it would taste like when the egg was runny, like a poached-egg style. The bacon bits on top for extra crunch and salt was even more interesting. It all sounded way too rich for me and after 2 bites, I’d probably regret wasting a perfectly wonderful avocado.

But my curiosity got the best of me and I just had to try it. Have you ever been both scared and fascinated by something that you can’t stop thinking about it? Well I had that relationship with this recipe and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. So I had to try it because if I didn’t, I’d keep myself up at night wondering what it tasted like. Yes, I’m that type of person that keeps thinking about something so much that I eventually have to make it happen, or else I’ll drive my self bonkers.

I decided to spread it over toast and figured this would be a wonderful base for something so decadent. And what did I think of it after I tasted it? Wonderful.

Really, I never thought I’d take heart to a warm avocado. But the warm egg, all mushed together with the avocado and bacon bits really paired well together on the crisp toast. It was like a smashed avocado sandwich, but with the added bonus of a “poached egg” texture on top and bacon to make it all happier. I really enjoyed these baked eggs and was so surprised at how pleasant warm avocado tasted.

Todd even enjoyed it and ate his half with the same enthusiasm as I did.

So there you have it. I’m thankful that I didn’t judge the recipe and gave it a second chance. Now I can say that I have a wonderful breakfast option for anyone who loves avocados.

Try it!

-diane

cooking note: rest the avocado half inside the edge of a baking dish so that the avocado doesn’t tilt over & spill eggs

Yield: Serves 2

Total Time: 30 min

1 medium or large avocado2 small eggs2 sliced of bacon, cooked then crumbled2 slices of toastsea salt, to tastefresh cracked black pepper, to tastehot sauce, optionalfresh chopped tomatoes, optionalPre-heat oven to 425 degrees.Crack the eggs in a medium bowl, careful to not puncture the yolks. Set aside.Cut avocado in half and carefully remove seed. Depending on how big the seed is, the hole in the avocado should be big enough for one small egg. But if the hole looks too small, scoop out a little at a time till it matches the amount of egg.In a medium baking dish, try to rest the avocado half inside the edge of the dish so that the avocado doesn't tilt over. You need to keep the avocado from tilting so that the raw egg does not spill out. Look at the photo above to see how I did it.You can crack the egg directly in the avocado, but it might overflow and make a mess. So this technique will be useful: With a medium spoon, gently scoop out one of the yolks and place it into the hole of the avocado. Then continue spooning the egg whites into the avocado hole till it's full. Repeat for both avocado halves.Add salt and fresh cracked black pepper on top of the eggs, to taste.Gently place the baking dish in oven and bake for about 15 minutes. Baking time will vary depending on how much egg you have and how big your avocado is. So keep checking the egg to see if it's cooked to your desired consistency.Sprinkle crumbled bacon on top. Spread the avocado/egg onto toast. Add addition salt and pepper to taste, chopped tomatoes, hot sauce, if needed. Enjoy!

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