This recipe was a bit of an experiment, but one I was rather pleased with I must say. I guess it is a take on an English breakfast, but less greasy and more delicious and healthy!
It makes for a quick, tasty midweek supper, and is useful for using up things in the cupboard and fridge that need eating pronto. There are lots of different versions of this dish that I have come across, but this is my version and so I hope you like it! I served this with some crusty white bread, but you could also have this on its own or with a simple green salad.
Ingredients (serves 2)
1tbsp vegetable oil
1 small red onion
1 garlic clove
Handful of cherry tomatoes
1 red pepper
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tin butter beans
Handful of fresh spinach
1 tsp paprika
1/2 dried chilli flakes
4 eggs
1 baguette
Salt and pepper to season
Method
Heat the oven to 180c. Place 1tbsp vegetable oil in a a wide ovenproof pan and heat on the hob. Finely chop the pepper, onion and garlic then place into the pan once the oil is hot. Leave these to fry for 5 minutes, making sure to stir them every so often. Add the cherry tomatoes and fry for a further 2-3 minutes. Next, pour in the chopped tomatoes and butter beans, then add the spinach, paprika and chilli. Stir all the ingredients together, turn the heat down and leave to simmer for 10-15 mins. Season with salt and pepper.
Take the pan off the heat and one by one, crack the eggs over the dish. The eggs will join together and cover the surface of the sauce. Don’t worry if your pan isn’t wide enough for 4 eggs, you can use 3 or even 2, depending on how much you like egg!
Place the pan, with the lid off, in the oven and leave for 15 minutes. After this time, check whether or not the eggs are cooked, and give another 5 minutes if necessary. The cooking time also depends on how you like your yolk – runny or hard! I prefer a soft yolk so tend to go for a slightly shorter cooking time. When the dish has about 5 minutes left to cook, put the baguette in the oven to heat through.
Whilst the dish is in the oven, why not take a look at the Guardian’s Week in Wildlife, a series of photos produced each week of images of nature and wildlife from around the world. I really like that you can see the photo, but are also given the story behind the photo. I love looking at each new series and seeing what has been captured that week – there’s always something different and the photography is beautiful. My favourite this week has to be the 2 bears playing in Romania.
Once the baguette is hot, and the eggs are cooked remove both from the oven and serve. Happy eating!