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Eggs in Tomatoes
1 small onion 2 cups tomato 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 6 eggs Toast Cut the onion into small pieces and place with the tomato in a shallow pan. Stew very slowly for ten minutes. Add salt and pepper, then reduce the heat until the tomato stops bubbling. Break the eggs and slip them on top of the tomato, being careful not to break the yolks. Cook slowly until the whites of the eggs are set, then prick the yolks and let them mingle with the tomato and the whites. The mixture should be quite soft, but the red tomatoes should be quite distinct. Serve at once on buttered toast.
A one-pan poach of eggs in stewed tomato, close kin to the dishes now sold under Levantine names. The whole thing turns on heat that stays below a simmer.
- The hinge: no bubblingOnce the salt and pepper go in, the tomato must stop moving before the eggs are slipped on. A simmer will toughen the whites and break the yolks loose into the sauce; the pan should be barely steaming, on the lowest burner setting or a diffuser.
- "2 cups tomato"In an American book of this period this most likely means canned tomatoes with their liquid, or fresh tomatoes peeled and chopped. Either works; if using canned whole tomatoes, crush them by hand so red pieces stay visible, which is what the recipe asks for at the end.
- Pan and lidA shallow pan wide enough to hold six eggs without overlap -- a 10- or 12-inch skillet. The recipe does not call for a lid, but covering the pan for the last two or three minutes sets the tops of the whites without overcooking the base.
- Timing the eggsExpect 5 to 8 minutes for the whites to set at this low a heat, depending on pan and egg size. Watch the whites rather than the clock; the yolks are pricked deliberately afterward, so they need not be firm.
- Ten minutes for the onionA ten-minute slow stew softens a finely cut small onion only partway. Cut it genuinely small -- 1/4-inch dice or less -- or give it a few minutes in butter first if you want no bite left.
- SeasoningA full teaspoon of salt for two cups of tomato is on the assertive side by current habit, particularly with canned tomatoes that already carry salt. Add half, taste the stewed tomato before the eggs go in, and adjust.
- YieldSix eggs serves three as a main course or six as part of a larger breakfast. Allow one or two slices of buttered toast per person; the mixture is loose and wants something under it.