Tomato Casual » Eggs Poached in Tomato-Basil Sauce

poached-eggs By David Harbilas

This is a perfect example of Italian resourcefulness: take something plentiful, in tomatoes, and make something memorable of it with a simple addition.

This is really a lesson in layering: anyone can hack up some tomatoes and stew them and throw in a few eggs.

But to make even hard, underripe tomatoes and plain, store-bought eggs into something wonderful takes a little skill, in a sense.

Really, all it takes is the patience to dice the tomatoes correctly, cook them as a quick sauce and drop the eggs in and poach them over the right heat to make a really great meal.

Serves 2

1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons basil, chopped
3 tomatoes, finely diced
Â¼ cup white wine
4 eggs
salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil

In a sautÃ© pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the onion and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring. Add the garlic clove and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, cook for 5 minutes and then add the white wine. Cook for 10 minutes over low heat, until the mix resembles a thick stew. If necessary, add water to allow the mix to stew down a bit. Add the basil.

Over medium to low heat, crack the eggs into the sauce and cook at a simmer. It’s important to have little liquid in the sauce as a cooking medium for the eggs, otherwise the entire dish will be dry. Once the eggs have set, about 3-4 minutes, serve by turning into a dish. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil as a seasoning.