The trick with this recipe is to take the eggs off the heat as soon as the whites are set. They will continue to cook in the hot sauce, and while I won’t turn up my nose at slightly overcooked yolks, the dish is really splendid when they are soft and runny. You can make this dish with chunky tomatoes too. Serve with chunks of bruschetta: toasted Italian bread rubbed with a raw garlic clove and sprinkled with olive oil and salt. (To make this for company, I prepare the sauce, then pour it into individual ramekins, and crack two eggs in each ramekin and cover with foil. Place the ramekins in a large shallow pan, and add enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekin dish. Place over low heat, and cook until the whites are set.) Serves 2.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pint home-canned tomato puree without seeds (or imported Italian seedless whole tomatoes in water that has been blended to a puree, or Pomi diluted by 25 percent with chicken stock)
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons minced flat-leafed parsley
Directions
In a medium sized nonstick skillet or iron skillet, or even a saucepan, add the oil, and heat over medium until the oil wrinkles. Add the onion and garlic, and saute until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato puree, and cook, boiling gently, until the sauce is reduced by about one third. Add the butter, and salt to taste.
Gently crack the eggs in the sauce. Turn the heat down a bit so the sauce stays at a hot simmer, and cover. It should only take 4 or 5 minutes for the whites to cook. Add a bit of salt to the eggs and black pepper to taste.
Garnish with parsley and serve.
