romaine pesto and egg-stuffed tomatoes
“Like the lettuce. And parsley, you make it into a pesto.”
“But not with basil?”
“No. And then you scoop out a tomato and you put it in the bottom and bake an egg in it.”
“I don’t know, Deb, it sounds kind of weird.”
“It does, right? I mean, pureed lettuce? Blech.”
“So why make it?”
“It’s calling to me.”
Sometimes, I don’t know what I’m getting myself into, and my husband — who was just going to grab some Murray’s Bagels for us — has pretty much given up trying to understand. But, I’ve had a whole week of errands, working late and after-work engagements and I haven’t had a single home-cooked anything since those wee tartlets and I was fiending for the kitchen by Saturday morning. Fiending.
Even walking to the store, I was wondering what I was getting into. Remembering Luisa’s horrendous spinach pesto experience, I wondered how the flavor of ground up Romaine lettuce could be any less flat, and to be honest, I’m not sure I see the point in making pesto with anything but basil because why mess with what works splendidly? Are we really that desperate for new foods to eat? But, I followed through and we are both very glad that I did.
The pesto really surprised me; that single clove of garlic, parsley and seasoning packed more flavor than I thought it would, but it was subtle enough not to overwhelm the tomato or eggs. (Alex said it tasted “green,” a word he also uses to describe the smell of my Aveda shampoo. I have only a vague understanding of what it means.) We liked it enough to spread some extra on ciabatta toast. I drew the line, though, at sautéing the lettuce like greens with pancetta, as even the photo accompanying the recipe made it look like slimy mess. I instead crisped up some prosciutto in a pan, my favorite form of “bacon”, and the whole thing came together pretty quickly. I’m totally saving this one for next time I have people over for brunch, and also as a reminder that sometimes, my hunches are wrong in a good way.
Romaine Pesto and Egg-Stuffed Tomatoes
Adapted from Gourmet, September 2006
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large head romaine (about 1 1/2 lb) *
1 large garlic clove
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 oz finely grated parmesan (1/2 cup), plus additional for serving
6 large tomatoes (about 3 inches in diameter)
6 large eggs at room temperature
Strip romaine leaves from stems, reserving both separately, then tear leaves into roughly 2-inch pieces. Measure 4 loosely packed cups of leaves and reserve remainder. With motor running, add garlic to food processor to finely chop. Turn off and add the 4 cups romaine leaves along with the parsley, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cheese, then pulse until finely chopped. With motor running, add remaining cup oil in a slow stream, blending until incorporated.
Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 400°F.
Cut off about 1/8 inch from top of each tomato with a sharp knife.** Gently scrape out pulp and seeds with a spoon and discard them. Put tomatoes, cut sides up, in a 9-inch glass or ceramic dish and spoon 1 tablespoon romaine-parsley pesto into each tomato (you will have extra pesto). Crack 1 egg into each tomato and season with salt and pepper. Bake eggs in tomatoes until whites are set and yolks are still runny, 18 to 22 minutes.
* I didn’t use nearly this much lettuce. For one, I was only making four eggs, and two, I had a hunch this would make an egregious amount. I may have used 4-6 leaves, tops, and half the oil and parsley.
** I ended up beveling a little sliver off the bottoms, too, to stop them from rolling over in the dish and dumping out their eggs, and you may have guessed happened before I came up with my brilliant solution. Next time I’d put a droplet of oil underneath the beveled tomatoes, as they stuck a little to the bottom, something I should have also seen coming.
I love it when something makes me hesitate and think um maybe I should skip this and then I try it and have a winner!
What would have been the result with basil pesto?
Yes, this looks really good for company.
hi from australia… love this. inspirational and now i have another to add to my recipe box. thanks deb.
I know exactly what Alex means when he says it tastes green, just means it tastes fresh and clean and…..green? I can’t describe it better but it’s a good thing.
Also our local cafe makes rocket pesto with their breakfasts and it’s awesome and light and tastes green too.
What an amazing result, I’m glad you experimented and created this marvel! JUst a question – how on earth did you hollow out your tomatos? I’ve tried to do so with a teaspoon before and just ended up destroying it so that it collapsed!
Mmm that looks good, but I’ll have to wait until next summer. The tomatoes around here already are tasting blah.
Looks really good, too bad the H. doesn’t eat eggs and the boy won’t eat tomatoes! I would have to eat it all by myself…..hmmmmmm
Tanna – I considered using traditional pesto, especially because I have ton of basil on my windowsill, bagging for it. I’m sure it would have been great, but I was concerned it might have tasted a little overpowering. Still delicious though; basil pesto is one of my favorite things.
Carolyn – Thank you.
Lucy – Rocket pesto sounds sooo good. Arugula is definitely one of my favorite tastes on earth. I think I might try that next time.
Ellie – They said to use a spoon, but I used a grapefruit knife. It worked pretty well; better on the ones I worked slowly and patiently on.
Tammi – I was totally disappointed in these tomatoes. These “Holland, vine-on” tomatoes they sell here are a total sham. They look perfect and red on the outside, and inside, too often, fibrous and pale pink or white. It’s what I get for buying produce at Garden of Eden and not the farmers’ market.
Kate – You can’t win! I think you can totally make this just for one, though, the recipe divides pretty easily.
Ellie – Just found this remarkably appropriate tool for your question:
http://becksposhnosh.blogspot.com/2006/09/nifty-little-gadget.html
I call my husband the “food whisperer” because he goes to the store after work, and lets the food tell him what he should cook for dinner (he is a much better cook than I, but I am learning!) I love tomatoes, and we have amazing tomatoes down here in FL, so I will have to try this recipe.
THis looks really good, especially for summer weather. My mom would LOVE this as she likes roasted tomatoes and boiled eggs. I think this would have the effect of combining the best of both into one!
Kirs – That’s fabulous. I, too, saw it right after I scooped them out. I gotta say though, if you already have a grapefruit knife, and can wield it with any finesse (heh) it really did the trick.
Ombra – I love that term! It’s a really fun way to shop, too, to just get what you crave and go from there. (Um, as long as its not one of those weeks I’d bring home wine, brioche and a chunk of bittersweet chocolate.) I love doing that at farmer’s markets, too, where its no fun if you come armed with a plan.
Claire – I just remembered, next time I would season (salt and pepper) the scooped out tomato before dropping in the egg. I mean, few things aren’t imporved by a little extra flavor, and besides, only seasoning the top of the egg seems unfair to the other bites.
Hi Deb!!
I am a great fan of your blog both at ivillage and here.. my boyfriend is actually getting tired of me referring to you as my twin in another country. Too many similarities, from being anal about cleanliness, to being clumsy and above all passionate about food and cooking… I will be visiting new york at the end of this month… Could you suggest good restaurants and must do’s? Btw, I loved the you wont be single for long vodka pasta!
I saw this in Gourmet and also got stuck at the lettuce pesto business. Nice to know how good it was! Your stuffed tomatoes remind me of Lindy’s egg-stuffed tomatoes, Breakfast of Champignons…
this is food porn at its best – those colours, the focus the freshness, the ingredients! that egg yolk!
so i tried this last weekend minus the pesto, since we had no lettuce in the house, and it was delightful anyhow. i think this is my new favorite way to do eggs for brunch and it seems like it would lend itself nicely to many different treatments.
but what i really came here to tell you is i turned this into dinner tonight – i made the pesto, boiled up some pasta and tossed it together until it looked good, then poached a couple of eggs and laid them on top. so good, and an excellent way to use up some leftover lettuce pesto. i think the runny egg yolks make the pesto that much better.
Chaya – That sounds amazing! When it said that there would be leftovers, I decided to just make less, because the last thing I need is another mystery container in the fridge. I think I missed out. Thanks for the suggestion.
i have some of these in the oven right now. i used garlic scape pesto because i had some already made. i’m worried though, because the tomatoes must not have been big enough even for the small eggs i used — the white spilled out over the side. i hope it doesn’t make too big a mess!
I used to work with a chef who made the most delicious Cream of Romaine and Feta soup…..I know, it sounds awful, it SHOULDN’T work, but jeez it really does….
I just have to try this!
Thank-you!
i just made this. without the romaine, sadly. it was a great late night snack! Pair it with some buttered toast..mmm
This was great! I made it for a late night snack the other night with some buttered toast. yum!
Can these be made ahead of time or are they better served warm? I’m going to make them to take to a brunch tomorrow and I’m wondering if they are baked around 9am will they be tasty at 11?
Personal taste, really. I wouldn’t enjoy these anything but warm, but if cold soft-cooked eggs don’t bother you, go for it.
i am looking for a recipe for garlic scape pesto. you reference in the search but i can’t find it anywhere here. do you have a good one?
Really? Don’t think I’ve made or mentioned garlic scape pesto. That said, looks like many other food bloggers have — lots of leads there.
This sounds really delicious. I wonder if basil pesto wouldn’t be overpowering. And, by the way, I think your photo is better than the one in Gourmet!