Tomato Poached Eggs

Looks good, doesn’t it?

One day, I was standing in line at Sprouts, and I spotted the cover of Vegetarian Times. Now, let’s be clear: I’m not a vegetarian. My husband and child are both serious carnivores. And yet… on the cover of the June 2012 issue was a picture of eggs poached on a bed of seasoned diced tomatoes.

Did I mention that I don’t like poached eggs? Right.

Anyway, for reasons unexplained, this magazine called to me. A few days later, I finally sat down to read it and found myself dogearing page after page of recipes. Vegetarian recipes. Was I crazy? Possibly. So I set the magazine aside and ignored it for several weeks.

And then, on my way to the hairdresser, I pulled the magazine out again, wanting to see if the same recipes sounded appealing enough to be worth the uphill battle with the carnivores.

By the time my color had processed, I’d dogeared half of the magazine.

It was time to give it a try.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small jalapeño pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 Roma tomatoes, diced, or one large can of petite diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp tomato paste
4 large eggs
3 Tbsp chopped parsley for garnish

Instructions

Saute onion and bell pepper over medium heat for 7-10 minutes. Add jalapeño and garlic and saute for another minute. Add tomatoes and cumin. Season with salt and pepper.

Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes or until the mixture thickens. Stir in tomato paste and cook for another minute.

Reduce heat to low. Hollow out 4 cavities in the tomato mixture.

Break one egg into a small dish and slip the egg into the cavity in the mixture. Repeat with remaining eggs.

Cover and cook 8-10 minutes, until egg whites are set.

Sprinkle with parsley and feta cheese and serve immediately.

Easy to make, and liked by all egg-eaters.

Results

As it’s an egg dish, the Tiny Kitchen Assistant wouldn’t touch it. (He actually broke out a new vocabulary word and said, “I detest eggs.” I did my best to maintain my patience.)

The adults liked it. The Husband was surprised that there was a category of Israeli cuisine. Since everyone from Israel came from someplace else, wouldn’t the same be true of the food? A quick search of Wikipedia reveals that while shakshuka is a very popular breakfast food in Israel, the dish is actually believed to have been invented during the Ottoman Empire, becoming a regional staple in North Africa, Tunisia and Algeria in particular. So there’s your History Lesson of Questionable Accuracy, brought to you by Wikipedia.

Tags: breakfast, eggs, main dish, meatless, quick, Recipe, tomato