eggs in tomato sauce + contest winners
That’s what happened when I was getting a lot of work done watching the Martha Show a couple weeks ago and one of her producers came on to show a quick little dinner she’d been making for her family that involved a quick tomato sauce with eggs cooked right in it. It reminded me of the baked egg dish I cannot resist ordering when we go out for brunch at a deliciously Art Deco place in our neighborhood, that I still couldn’t believe I hadn’t tried at home.
Especially when considering how ridiculously simple it is. You make a quick tomato sauce, you cook eggs in it and if you’re us, sautee a little fresh spinach with garlic on the side. Meanwhile, toast or broil some bread. You can rub it with a garlic clove or drizzle it with olive oil, but I didn’t bother because I was lazy. And in about five minutes, your breakfast/lunch/dinner is done.
It’s one of these dishes–like the huevos rancheros–that I feel silly giving you a recipe for because its so hodge-podge and easy, but just like those tortilla eggs before it, I have gotten hooked on this, making it for lunch nearly three times this week. So, I either tell you what’s really cooking in the smitten kitchen or we will end up radio silence.
***
Nevertheless, I know what you’re really here for: You want to know who won the shopping bags Delight.com is giving away to smittenkitchen readers this week. At the stroke of 9 a.m. EST today, I ran the total comment count (2,524! Hot damn!) through a random number generator…
Which used a randomness quotient that “comes from atmospheric noise, which for many purposes is better than the pseudo-random number algorithms typically used in computer programs”–seriously, I’m not making this up–to generate six integers…
And congratulations, commenters number 1790 (Jason), 954 (c3) and 2441 (Angie), you’ve won a set of large RuMe tote bags! Commenters numbers 1253 (Konna), 1284 (Kate) and 1028 (Jeff), you’ve won a set of small RuMe tote bags! I’ll be emailing you all right soon to get your mailing addresses, which I will then give to Delight.com so they can get your winnings in the mail.
Bummed you didn’t win? Through Sept. 22, you can use the code “SmittenDelight†at checkout to get 15 percent off all orders over $35.
One year ago: Grandmothers of Sils’ Apple and Yogurt Cake
Two years ago: Giardinera
Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce
Inspired by the Martha Show
1 can (14 ounces) tomato puree
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
Big pinch of sugar
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Glug of red wine (optional)
4 large eggs
4 slices toasted country bread, for serving
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
In a small skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and crushed red pepper; cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Add tomato sauce and bring to a boil; season with sugar, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 to 20 minutes minutes. A few minutes before it’s done, I like to add a glug of red wine and let it simmer for a moment.
Gently crack eggs into tomato mixture, cover, and let cook 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat, uncover, and let stand 2 to 3 minutes.
Transfer each egg to a piece of toast. Spoon over sauce, garnish with cheese, and season with salt and pepper; serve immediately.
congrats on the Martha Stewart Show!!! I just read that you will be on the show..as a regular reader, I was so excited to see your name on the list.
Those tomatoes look incredible! I’ve been struggling with using up the bushels I’m harvesting from my garden right now so all the tomato ideas you can unload are much appreciated.
The contest was very cool! More please! :) It’s a fun thrill to wonder if you’ll be picked.
Martha Stewart Show?!?!? When? I have to record it!
This will be on my table tonight! I’m curious as to how it will turn out using tomato puree as the base for the sauce, thanks for posting!
Holy crap, that looks fantastic!
I have just started having something very similar for breakfasts – I’ll saute about 1 cup of random greens (so far spinach has been my favorite), add one diced tomato from my mother’s garden, drain some of the liquid, and then crack an egg in it to poach. I’ve been seasoning it with 5 spice, salt, and pepper. I thought I was a genius when I discovered it, and I’m thrilled that it’s not actually as odd a thing as I thought.
Is the glug of wine for the sauce or just for us?
dinner…now!
UMmmm will give this a try for dinner – simple and healthy!
Yummmmmmm looks so good. I think that pancetta needs to find a way into that dish.
When are you goign to be on Martha? Must tivo!
Oh, just googled it – SEPTEMBER 17TH EVERYBODY!
Thanks everyone. I am not going to be on the show, or at least that was not the plan when I last spoke to the producers. I will, however, be there that day, which means that I need new shoes. And probably a new tube of lip gloss, if we’re being honest here. Priorities!
i made your ratatouille last night (SO delish by the way, i served it over crispy polenta with a dollop of goat cheese and it has already made it’s way onto the menu for next week when the bf is out of town and i don’t have to share!) and half exactly this amount of tomato puree left in my fridge and was wondering what to do with it.
I shall have to try this.
Your huevos rancheros have kept me up to my elbows in salsa verde since I made it for lunch one day. It has so far been the most requested dish I have done, followed quite closely by your take on Ina Gartens Panzanella.
Funnily enough every time I talk about something new I want to try people always respond with “Smitten Kitchen?” LOL You’re famous around this house.
this looks like a libyan dish called shakshuka…it’s served a lot in israel, and it’s long been a staple of mine…so yummy and quick! i’ve never tried it with the spinach though, which sounds lovely…
WOO HOO! Congrats Deb!
http://nymag.com/daily/food/2008/09/martha_stewart_plucks_foodies.html
Where has this dish been all my life?
Question: Are canned tomato sauce and tomato puree the same thing? The brands at the co-op where I shop only have tomato sauce and tomato paste, and I’ve never known what to use when a recipe calls for puree. Thanks!
tomatoes and eggs are wonderful together! this week for lunch i’ve been making myself a toasted english muffin with grilled tomato slices and over easy eggs. soooo delicious.
that was dee-lish. our tummies thank you, deb!
Tomatoes from a box? It boggles the mind.
I read about the appearance and can’t wait to see you on there. You said that you will be in the audience, right? Maybe you can make re-occurring appearances in the future… How awesome would that be? Then you could slyly take over her role :)
This reminds me of what my mother used to do with left over portuguese chicken (or beef) stew that had little to no chicken (or beef) left over. It was a great way to use the left over tomato sauce (which is always better a couple days later) and create an entirely new meal. Yum!
Speaking of eggs… ever since your tip on poaching an egg (never a forte of mine), I’ve been poaching like mad.
Cannot believe I won the bags! I am super excited! Thanks, Deb! The recipe, as always, looks delish. Will definitely be trying this one out!
My grandfather used to poach eggs in tomato sauce for us in the 1950s. We thought it was weird till we tasted them.
but… but… I just had brunch…
Deb,
You aren’t going to be on? Martha’s weekly lineup email and website say otherwise . . . What’s going on? Is this a big misunderstanding or what?
This looks great – I love when the simple recipes turn out to be some of the best!
Pffffttt. No inside help on this one? Damn. I wanted those bags. Sigh.
I’m making tortilla soup. You should come over. You’ll love it.
oMG….YUM… we are having this for breaky now…. thanx again for the inspiration
That’s a classic Middle Eastern dish called Shakshouka! Not a fan, but yours looks delish!
Also…soooo jealous of the winners. I never win anything. :(
So funny! I listened to this show on my way to work one day and this recipe sounded delicious! I’ll have to try it now.
So I was already planning on making eggs for dinner and when I saw your pictures, that was all it took to know THIS IS IT! Well, with a few changes (but isn’t that what your blog is all about, to inspire us?). I had a few elderly small white potatoes, so the toasted bread morphed to mashed potatoes with freshly snipped chives and goat cheese, oh, so yummy. I had about 2/3s of a jar of Trader Joe’s roasted garlic pasta sauce, so that combined with 5-6 chopped campari tomatoes and lots of seasonings became my sauce. The eggs on top was a real twist and so good. I even had plenty of spinach with garlic. Filling, tasty, comfort food, what could be better? Thank you!
This is the Wednesday Line-up on Martha:
Wednesday: The Blogging Show, Perez Hilton, top five tips for bloggers, mattbites.com’s Matt Armendariz, Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman, Politico’s Ben Smith and Jonathan Martin, A Way to Garden’s Margaret Roach
That’s fabulous. I’ve never even thought of eggs cooked in tomato sauce – the boy child and husband will flip for this. Thank you!
ive been making this for a while now…and i actually like it placed over baked white rice. the rice is slighty crispy..but soft as well…and the sauce and egg/cheese/ham/corn mixed in makes it a perfect “italian” fried rice
Wow I make something like this for lunch all the time, it is addicting. I just sautee some cut up tomatoes, garlic and spinach and then cook an egg over easy to put over it, with grated romano (sometimes with toast). This looks even yummier, thanks for the idea!
This is something that we made and ate in Morocco all the time – an egg Tagine they called it. Very similar except you’d eat it directly out of the tagine bottom with bread. So good. I’d forgotten about it, actually
Kelly
Man, oh man. That sure beats the heck out of my “throw way too much of last nights left over spaghetti sauce in with some scrambled eggs and cheese and devour the tasty but repulsive-looking monstrosity” technique.
Definetely Shakshuka. It’s a breakfast/dinner staple in Israel. There’s a great cafe in Tel Aviv that makes it with Sweet potatoes and cilantro in addition to everything you have above.
I have plenty o tomato sauce to try this recipe this morning, tomatoes are out of control! The running joke in this house is at dinner time, when there are leftovers the comment comes out “This would be good with eggs…”! In this case, it is!
Three excitements:
1. I too read that you’ll be introduced on the MS show on Wednesday the 17th. What ever is the matter with Martha? Introduction only??!!!
At any rate, will be good to see you get some additional well deserved kudos.
2. This recipe is a quick, earthy “good thing” (a bow to MS for having you on ;)
3. Small RUmes coming my way – Thank you so very much!!
That was awesome. We scarfed it down in total silence.
And my boyfriend also commented that it’s like shakshuka.
WHAT????? Martha Stewart? You better share the details with us!
As soon as I buy some more eggs, I’ll be making this! I love these super simple but oh so delicious discoveries. Thanks, Deb.
I read this post and made the recipe that day. the family really liked it; my husband LOVED it! It was quick w/ ingredients I usually have on hand. Thank you for posting the recipe (and I’m glad you did, even tho it is easy, I never would have thought of making a dish like this on my own).
This was absolutely gorgeous and just what my slightly hungover husband needed on Saturday morning! I used a tin of tomatoes and I did rub garlic on the pieces of bread which, mingled with the tomatoes and egg, was lovely!
Shakshouka is one of my staple dishes! I’ve never done it with spinach, but I’m sure it’s delish. A nice little touch is to serve it on a plate with some nice bread and a dollop of ricotta or sour cream or cottage cheese on the side. I like the sour cream best but my s/o prefers ricotta and my sister swears by cottage cheese.
Ooh, this looks like simplicity and total gastronomy combined. I am now really, REALLY wishing that I ate breakfast today.
Making this for lunch again today. I can live on this.
I enjoyed this very much- interesting mix of flavors. I am not a runny egg fan- so I cooked mine further, but a great treat!
I actually gasped when I saw the photo of the egg dish – I am so having this for dinner! Thank you!
I loved how easy this was (so much easier than poaching eggs in water!), and how I always have these ingredients around the house, and it was totally delicious and satisfying, and beautiful to behold. This will be a staple.
My boyfriend was admittedly dubious when I made this for dinner tonight, but he totally loved it. Sweet!
Hi please do keep continuing to post these easy egg recipes. Runny eggs were banned in my household growing up and having them appear here in poached, tomato-ey and eggy glory is awesome. Finally I get a chance salmonella be darned.
Plus now you can say you’ve got mexican, french and dubiously italian style eggs covered. What culture comes next Deb? I’m looking forward to your next exploration.
Interesting recipe that you got here. Honestly all that I think about egg was omellete, and this change the deal. lOL
In Israel this is called – Shakshuka. It’s a very well known breakfast meal – eggs, made with tomatoes and other vegetables on toast or eaten straight out of the frying pan by dipping bread into it. Delicious.
I no I’m a little late on this post. First of all congrat’s on the Martha Show
& also this looks so very good. I think I will have tonight for dinner.
Hub’s working late so it will be a meal for him when he gets in & very fast for me to make . Like I said congrats….
This is fantastic! Lenny loves eggs especially cooked like this … you are added into my must cook for dinner file!l
I’m home alone (sans husband) this week and was totally planning on just eating soup and sandwiches for the duration…but this completely changed my mind.
Now I know exactly what I’m having for dinner, thanks!
That looks so easy! Hmm, dinner tonight??
Your photo’s are so vibrant, everything looks so good and fresh, I wish I had smellavision.
Will try this for a quick supper – looks delicious! Goes right along with one of my absolute favorites: goat cheese on toast topped with a slice of tomato, quick sauteed garlic spinach and a fried egg!
This may be my favorite way to cook eggs forever! I’ve done this three times now and each time is so much better. I had to tweak the timing on the eggs a little bit to find out where I liked them. Five minutes and they’re too hard. 3 minutes and they’re runny. 4 minutes gets them just perfect! Three times and three different kinds of toast. 1st, rosemary dill hamburger buns which made great toast. 2nd, yeast risen waffles. 3rd, (my favorite) black rye bread. I can hardly wait to cook this for a larger group. Thanks Deb for sharing all of your great recipes. :)
Damn you Hurricane Ike for taking out my electricity the exact week of Deb’s contest! And Damn you Centerpoint for restoring my power just in time to see someone else win the green bags I’ve been dying for!
This is indeed similar to shakshuka but shakshuka is made with chilis and with both sweet and spicy paprika. And sometimes a smidgen of cilantro.
Oh my I made this last night and I loved it! I’ve never had such a combo before but it was delish. Thanks for the recipe! I’ll be using it again and again.
I actually did the same exact thing….I was busy, but watching Martha. Saw this, thought OH ummm sure that looks good, for dinner, why not? I have all the ingredients (even fresh eggs hatched from MY chicks not Marthas) and made it. Wonderful, satisfying, flavorful, complete one pot meal. Kudos!
This is one of my favorite quick dinners…I usually serve it over polenta made with lots of parmesan cheese – delicious!
“Uova in purgatorio” or “Eggs in purgatory” was one of my Italian grandmother’s staples–so easy and delicious :)
This was delicious. We just finished eating. I feel so good about myself. Full and smug. aaaaah.
Wow, substitute white rice for the bread and you have the Spanish classic Arroz a la cubana. I love this kind of simple, satisfying meal. Thanks for the supper idea!! :-)
Hi there, this is the first time I’ve commented on this site. I of course learned about it watching the MS show (which is a new thing for me) and I think it’s a fantastic site for just someone starting something in their own home. However, ONE thing would make this site perfect. I’d love to see actuall print pages when we want a recipe. Unless I’m missing something somewhere when you want to print a recipe you don’t get just the recipe, you get the entire article you see at that time. I know this probably makes things more difficult but it would be a huge help in getting the info in a user friendly format. Just a thought!
Hi Basketpam — There is a print function . At the end of each article, right before the comment count the word “Print” is linked. It will take you to a version of the article without photos (or comments), just text, which means that most posts will fit on one page.
Tomato sauce with eggs cooked directly in it is a verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry old Sicilian tradition. Often, eggs are soft boiled, then gently peeled before placing into sugo (tomato sauce) to fully cook. This somewhat sweet Sicilian sugo has been (is) a weekly Sunday dish with (several) eggs floating around in the cooked sauce.
Ah Deb, I just missed the contest!!! Sigh… And I just moved to Germany… where Delight delivers… Being a poor student I cant afford the bags.. but they would have been useful here.
Hello! It’s so funny that you made this – when I was at the Martha Stewart show last Wednesday (I saw you there! :D ), this happen to be the show that was playing in the waiting room. I was telling my husband how I used to make this alot and eat it over rice during college.
It was fun to see you by the way – nice to put a name to the face! Or is it a face to the name? :)
Deb!! This is so amazing! My husband and I had this for a light dinner the other night – no country bread in the house, so substituted english muffins. This is our new staple. Thank you!!
I was in the mood for eggs, so decided to pick up some spinach and tomato to make this. Delicious, even on plain old white bread. Thanks,Deb!
That sounds sooo yummy! I will have to try it this week.
BTW, that last post crashed my browser trying to load all of those comments. Hot damn!
deb, what the heck is the brand of the tomato puree you’re using? It looks chunky, more like a marinara, which I think is what this recipe needs. I used tomato sauce which was nice, but too smooth, like a paste.
Just had this for dinner. Sunday is usually a chicken dinner day (roast chicken, some kind of curry, the great braised chicken with white wine and plums from last month’s everyday food) but I’m low on cash and went out shooting the leaves for the day so I tried this and found it was exactly what I needed (especially in the wallet department! Eggs and a loaf of bread with diced tomatoes on hand? What an awesome dinner for under $5!!! I threw half a can of diced tomatoes in a blender for about 5 seconds and then pureed the other half–came out with a great marinara-like texture. I had spinach on the side as well and it was just perfect. This is definitely going into my weekly rotation–YUM!
I’d love to try this with a small glub of balsamic as opposed to red wine! Looks a heavenly dinner we’ll most definately be having soon!
OMG.
I just had this for dinner, since we’re a bit topsy-turvy at the moment and O.M.G. it was bloody awesome!!!! YUM YUM YUM!! Far out it was so good! When I first saw this dish (not here, somewhere else) I was a bit “huh?” about it. Then I saw it again here, and I kept thinking about it and so I made it tonight, with a tin of cherry tomatoes and an onion as well. I have to say, I left it on a bit longer so the sauce was quite reduced by the end and I *blush* ate the whole thing. I just cracked two eggs in the pan, and shared the leftover sauce with my partner who’s a bit unwell and just had scrambled eggs.
SO GOOD.
Thanks to this recipe, we made this for dinner a few mights ago. It was both good and bad. Good because it was sooo tasty. Bad because I really liked it and ate so much that I almost made myself sick!
Cheers,
V.
But…but I’m afraid of runny whites.
But it looks so good.
But…runny whites? Is there any way to get around that for this dish? Because if so – I am SO THERE.
If you cook your eggs properly, and long enough, runny whites will not be an issue.
Finally got around to making these tonight, but served over roasted potatoes instead of toast. Love!
I have been making eggs cooked in a sauce loosely based on Amatriciano sauce. Basically, sauteed small dice medium onion til light yellow, fresh pepper, 28.oz can good plum tomatoes and about 4 oz. of panchetta, chopped and sauteed. O..M..G.. Do the usual and simmer about 30 minutes. Add a GOOD half cup of pecorino romana at the end and I did add a little parsely – but no basil or garlic. I had made some homemade meatballs and this was to be my sauce. It is to die for. I got sick of the smell of the meatballs whilst cooking and realized I was starving so put some of the sauce in a small skillet and threw my eggs on top along with a sprinkling of the peco. cheese. With a copious amt. of pepper for my eggs with some salt. ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Deb – this reminds me one of the best dishes ever – SHAKSHOUKA! I make it with fresh tomatoes and a few hot peppers — and it’s always a hit!
I was just introduced to this site – i alread love it!
like Masha (no. 90) i instantly thought ‘duh – it’s shakshooka’. i start my tomato base with a lot of chopped and sauteed onions, and also add hot peppers.
for those who asked about the runny whites – either lower the flame and cover the pan for a few minutes or scramble the eggs into the sauce. either way is fine.
I was a little nervous about the runny white issue as well, but it turns out I had nothing to fear!! This was soo good, I made it two night in a row. I just tilted the pan a little so the whites had more surface area, and then pulled them off as soon as the white set, because lets face it, no one wants a runny white, but there is nothing like a nice runny yolk, amiright ladies??
This is my second smittenkitchen recipe tried in a week. It was so wonderful. I love your site.
This reminds me of one of my absolute favorite dishes – I can’t remember the name but all you do poach eggs in homemade tomatillo salsa and serve it with a corn tortilla. So satisfying, but I never thought about tomato sauce. As an untill-recently vegetarian, I love having meals focused on eggs, not meat. Now I know what is for dinner tonight! Thanks again!
I have been dreaming of the egg dish which I enjoyed last summer at the Continental
in Phla. They served it on a base of polenta but othewise the same as your’s. I
cannot wait to make these – supper tonight?? Thank you.
What is the yellow stuff in the pan next to the spinach? it look delicious.
I made this – more or less – for breakfast with the parents on Christmas day. It was a hit! I poached their eggs in the normal fashion, and beat mine first since I don’t do hard egg whites. They all came out great. Very easy and tasty breakfast. Next time, I would use the Trader Joe’s Italian starter sauce since it has such great flavor and doesn’t need any doctoring. Thanks for the recipe!
this is amazing!!! seriously the best poached eggs I have ever had, and I have a had a lot! Since it is my favourite way to have them… I am excited to play with this recipe! thank you so much for another great one!!
I just had this for dinner… def love it!.. lovely recipe!
This was delicious! Thanks for the quick, easy, cheap and healthy recipe. Even my 2 year old loves it!
LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!