Baked Eggs and Pesto Salad

Baked Eggs in Tomato-Parmesan Sauce
Source: Everyday Food, a few mods by Heather
Serves: 4
Time: 40 minutes total

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary
2 cans (15 ounces each) diced tomatoes in juice
1 can (15 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Coarse salt and ground pepper
8 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set four 12-ounce ovenproof bowls or ramekins on a large rimmed baking sheet.
2. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add garlic and rosemary; cook, stirring, until garlic is golden, about 2 minutes. Add diced tomatoes (with juice), crushed tomatoes, and 2 tablespoons Parmesan; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 2 to 4 minutes. Season tomato sauce with salt and pepper.
3. Divide tomato sauce among bowls, reserving 1 cup. Crack 2 eggs into each bowl. Dividing evenly, top with reserved sauce and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Bake until egg whites are just opaque (yolks should still be soft), 24 to 28 minutes, rotating halfway through.

Notes: You can use a 9×13 baking dish instead, if you don’t want to do plated servings. For Lydia’s, we do it in enormous baking trays. Serve with a ladle. The two kinds of tomatoes are nice for texture, but you can just as easily use only one or the other. I usually serve this with crusty bread for scooping up the runny yolks and sauce.

Pesto Salad
Source: Heather
Serves: 6
Time: 10 minutes total

1 bag baby spinach
10 ounces frozen peas
4–5 tablespoons prepared basil pesto
Toasted pignoli (pine nuts) (optional)
Parmesan, grated (optional)

1. In a pot of boiling water, cook peas for 1-2 minutes. Drain and immediately cool with cold water from the tap.
2. In a bowl, combine peas, spinach, and pesto. Add additional salt if necessary. Serve topped with toasted pignoli and grated Parmesan if desired.

Note: Also great with addition of cooked, cooled bowtie pasta (will require additional pesto).

These recipes serve 4–6; here’s a link to instructions for cooking this dish at Lydia’s, for 30+.

—Prepared by Heather at St. Lydia’s on March 13