Piquillo Pepper Baked Eggs
A jar of good piquillo peppers is a handy shortcut to something delicious. Their soft texture and sweet roasted flavour do most of the work here, stirred into a simple tomato sauce before the eggs go in.
This makes a lovely weekend brunch, but there's absolutely nothing stopping you having it for supper. Just remember the bread. Leaving that sauce behind would be a shame!
Serves: 2
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: about 35 minutes
Ingredients
- 150g drained Rosara whole piquillo peppers, cut into strips
- 4 large eggs
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Crusty bread, to serve
Method
- Soften the onion. Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Warm the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 6–8 minutes, stirring, until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Make the sauce. Stir in the paprika, then immediately add the tomatoes. Simmer uncovered for 10–12 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally. Fold in the piquillo strips and season to taste. If it becomes too thick, loosen with a tablespoon or two of water.
- Add the eggs. Spoon the hot sauce into a shallow ovenproof dish, about 22cm across. Make four hollows. Crack each egg into a small cup first, then slip one into each hollow.
- Bake gently. Bake for 10–14 minutes, checking from 10 minutes, until the whites are fully set. Cook longer if you prefer firm yolks; the time will depend on the dish and oven.
- Finish. Scatter with parsley and black pepper. Bring the hot dish to the table on a heatproof mat and serve straight away with bread.
The peppers are already roasted, so fold them in gently rather than cooking them to pieces. A good jar makes this wonderfully straightforward. ¡Que aproveche!
