Piperade with baked eggs
Carelessly prepared, piperade dishes tends to become "a soup". The vegetables used (tomatoes, peppers and onions) are full of juices. To avoid soupiness, drain them over a pan after cooking them and recover the juice. Then reduce the juice in the pan over a brisk heat before mixing it back into the piperade. It will heighten the flavor.
2 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 medium red or yellow pepper, sliced
1 medium green pepper, sliced
450g / 1lb tomatoes, skinned, seeded and roughly chopped
5ml/1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh parsley or basil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 to 3 teaspoons mixed hot paprika, salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 ounce feta, Machego, or other sheep's milk cheese (optional)
2 to 3 thin slices (1-2 ounces) prosciutto, Black Forest ham, or Canadian bacon, cut into thin slivers, Optional
Make the vegetable sauce. Start with the onions and garlic, when wilted, add peppers, then tomatoes, parsley and seasonings. Recover and reduce the juice as described above. You can refrigerate the sauce here. When ready to bake, reheat the sauce, stir in the cheese and slivered ham, place in a greased casserole. With the back of a spoon, make 6 nests in the sauce, break one egg into each, bake as described in baked eggs above; about 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.
You can also serve this over 4-6 servings hot pasta.
