In the Kitchen: Baked Egg Leftovers

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I'm stopping by to drop this in so I won't forget what I did for dinner tonight. Might come in handy again.

I had a half can of tomatoes in the frig and didn't want to waste them. Because, really, what the heck can you do with a half can of tomatoes?

Well, you can use them with baked eggs. So I did.

I also found three slices of bacon that needed to be used. I would have added some mushrooms and a green pepper but we didn't have either of those. (And the point, of course, is to use up what's on hand, not to run to the store to get other ingredients.) (I'm getting ready to go out of town for four days and wanted to clean out the frig.)

I had dried porcini, so I used those. I intended to add some Kalamata olives but completely spaced out. Still -- the final result was delicious! 

If you decide to make this with more intention than I did, obviously you can add/subtract ingredients.

For two people:

  • A few strips of bacon
  • a half can of tomatoes 
  • 4 dried porcinis (their flavor is so intense that you don't want to get carried away)
  • a bit of chopped onion
  • some dried basil
  • chopped fresh parsley
  • four eggs
  • grated parmesan to taste

Preheat the oven to 350. That sounds high/hot for eggs, but it still took 15 minutes for them to cook. (My instinct told me to set the oven at 325, but then I looked at a few baked egg recipes and they all called for 350.So that's where I set the temp. I was glad I did.)

Boil a cup of water and pour it over the porcini to soften them. (If you're using fresh mushrooms, skip this.)

Using an oven-proof ten-inch saute pan (meaning: no plastic handle!), cook the bacon. Drain off most of the grease.

Add some olive oil to the pan and, when it's warmed, the chopped onion. After a few minutes, add the tomato and a bit of dried basil. (Fresh, if you have it.) Stir and cook for a few minutes. 

NOTE: If you're using fresh mushrooms, cook those with the onion. Ditto olives, which, again, I forgot but which would be great.

Rinse the porcini to get rid of the grit, chop them fairly small, and add them to the pan, along with the parsley.

Crack the eggs over the top of the mixture and season all of it with salt and pepper. Place in the oven. Bake for about 14 minutes. Keep an eye on it. If you want the yolks runny, take it out sooner.

About a minute before you want to take it from the oven, sprinkle the parmesan over the top. At some point (depending on how long your toaster takes), toast a couple of pieces of good bread. Butter them lavishly. ("More," said my husband as I buttered the toast. "MORE!")

Enjoy!