Kasey Wilson: Breakfast for dinner easy with eggs
Credit to Author: Tracey Tufnail| Date: Tue, 24 Dec 2019 19:00:50 +0000
With Christmas over, home cooks deserve a break, and egg dishes are just the ticket.
For a cosy family dinner, consider Mark Bittman’s Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce, his version of the Middle Eastern dish shakshuka. It’s simple, hearty and versatile. And since the eggs can easily be cooked to different degrees of doneness, it’s a great dish for pleasing everyone at the table. You can serve it over polenta or couscous, or with slices of hearty bread.
If there’s more holiday entertaining in your future, go with a savoury strata for brunch or dinner. Devised by cookbook author Pam Anderson, the recipe here can be assembled the night before and holds up well on a buffet table. Complete the menu with a big green salad and an array of cut fruit.
The tomato sauce can be made ahead, refrigerated and reheated. Serve this dish with plenty of bread, polenta or couscous. (Adapted from the revised 20th anniversary edition of How to Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019.)
Tomato sauce:
3 tbsp (45 mL) olive oil or butter, plus more if needed
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
28 oz (796 mL) canned whole or diced tomatoes, preferably Italian
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Eggs:
8 eggs
Salt and freshly ground pepper
For sauce, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring and mashing the tomatoes occasionally with the back of the spoon, until they break down and the sauce comes together, 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.
For eggs, add 1 cup (250 mL) water to the sauce and bring to a boil. Crack eggs one at a time into a small bowl and slide them into the sauce. Adjust the heat and simmer until whites are set and yolks are as firm as you like them, 3 to 5 minutes for runny. For firmer eggs, cover pan and cook for another minute or so.
Spoon each egg and some of the sauce into a soup bowl and serve.
Serves 4
If you refrigerate the uncooked strata, make sure to allow extra baking time. You can, of course, use a combination of meat and vegetables for the filling. Be sure to pack the bread layers tightly so the strata puffs up when baked.
4 cups (1 L) half-and-half
12 large eggs
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
Freshly ground pepper
12 to 14 slices cheap, fluffy white bread
1 lb (454 g) meat or 2 lbs (907g) vegetables, prepped (see note)
12 oz (340g) extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (about 3 cups, 750mL)
1/2 cup (125mL) thinly sliced green onions (about 3 medium)
Whisk half-and-half, eggs, salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl until smooth.
Spray a glass or ceramic 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Line pan bottom with 6 slices of bread, fitting in additional bread, cut into strips, to form a tight layer. Scatter half the prepped meat or vegetables over the bread. Sprinkle on half the green onions and half the cheese. Pour 1 cup (250 mL) egg mixture evenly over bread. Repeat, creating a second tight bread layer and topping with remaining meat or vegetables, green onions and cheese.
Slowly pour remaining egg mixture evenly over bread. Cover with plastic wrap and weight casserole with 3 1lb (454g) cans for at least 15 minutes.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 F (160 C).
Discard plastic wrap and bake strata until custard is just set, about 50 minutes. Without adjusting oven rack, turn on broiler and broil until strata is spotty brown and puffy, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.
Serves 12
Note: For bacon, cut slices into 1/2-inch (1.3 cm) pieces, fry until crisp and drain well. For bulk breakfast or Italian sausage, fry, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until fully cooked; drain well. For frozen corn, thaw and drain. For bell peppers, onions and/or mushrooms, slice and sauté in olive oil. For baby spinach, steam until wilted and drain. For asparagus, cut into 1-inch (2.6 cm) pieces and steam until just tender. For broccoli, break into small florets and steam until just tender.
Instead of cracking eggs on the edge of a bowl or the countertop, use a plate. Then any drips can be washed away in the dishwasher instead of contaminating other surfaces.
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