Eggs in Tomato Sauce

Yesterday, NYC issued yet-another winter storm warning... Ice all morning turning to rain in the afternoon. In an unusual moment of forethought, i turned to Jordan and suggested that we go shopping to ensure we had breakfast in the house because there was no way I was going to want to go out in ice and rain... that led to the inevitable "so what do you want for breakfast" conversation that, in most houses goes something like this:

What do you want for breakfast?
I dont know, what do you want?
I dont know, what do you want?
Maybe XXX?
Nah, i dont want that
Ok, so what do you want?
I dont know - anything is fine.
Well, anything except XXX, right?
Yeah, whatever - anything...

etc etc etc.

(dont lie - you've had that conversation too...)

But this time, i was ready.  Ready to skip the conversation and move straight from "what do you want for breakfast?" to a decision.

I wanted eggs in tomato sauce.  and thankfully, he didnt say no.

A couple years back, I saw a recipe on Smitten Kitchen. She'd been at the Martha Stewart show and watched one of the producers make poached eggs in tomato sauce and had gone home and replicated the recipe... and i looked at it and though, 'thats a bit odd'...

then, sometime later, i was elsewhere on the internet and i saw something similar to it and thought 'maybe thats not so odd'...

and then one day, i was bored of everything else and made it. and it turns out, its not odd at all... since then, have adapted it into something way quicker/easier (read: jarred sauce, FTW!) Its something i've been making for so long that i actually had to look back and make sure i hadnt blogged it already...

So, imagine my amusement when we were flipping through that book that i've raved about time and time again - Mad Hungry - Feeding Men & Boys and found out that the recipe Smitten Kitchen posted - its in there... and it makes sense - she is/was a producer on the Martha Stewart Show, and that probably means that woman who made it that morning she was there? Probably Lucinda...

This recipe is so simple and the way i've adapted it, you probably already have everything you need in your kitchen...  It can be made to feed one or it can be made to feed 7.  Can be breakfast, can be dinner.  Could be served vegetarian benedict-style over an english muffin with spinach in the middle or eaten alone.  the eggs can be left super-runny (poached, if you will) or cooked more for those who are runny-yoke-adverse...  If your family is split on preferences, everyone can have their own version with just a little more work...

it feels like so much more than just eggs and toast, but its not much more difficult.  not at all.  

and the possibilities are endless.  

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Eggs in Tomato Sauce
courtesy of me, inspired, as it turns out, by Lucinda Scala Quinn

1/2 jar tomato sauce (i like Newman's Own Roasted Garlic for this)
~ 1/4 c water
pinch of crushed red pepper (optional)

5 eggs

5 slices bread

salt & pepper (optional)
parmesan cheese (optional)

***

Pour tomato sauce, water and crushed red pepper into a heavy frying pan over medium heat. Stir to combine.

Allow to heat up and sauce to thicken just a bit, stirring once or twice.

Once sauce has thickened every so slightly and is bubbling a little bit, lower heat a smidge to medium-low and carefully break eggs into the sauce.  Hold the eggs close to the sauce as you break them (this isnt the time to show off your 1-handed egg breaking skills) to minimize the fall so that the yolk stays together and the white doesnt spread out very far.

Cover the pan and set your timer for about 5 minutes.

Throw your bread in the toaster.

After 5 minutes, your whites should be pretty much cooked.  If you are interested in having runny yolks, you'll probably want to pull them out at this time.  If you are like me and are very runny-white adverse and therefore, paranoid, allow to simmer another minute or two.

Spoon each egg over once piece of toast and divide the remaining sauce among the eggs.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper & parmesan, if desired.