Baked Eggs with Spinach, Tomatoes & Garlic

Instead of England’s early Sunday dinner, a postchurch ordeal of heavy meats and savory pies, why not a new meal, served around noon, that starts with tea or coffee, marmalade and other breakfast fixtures before moving along to the heavier fare? By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday-night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well. Brunch is cheerful, sociable and inciting. It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.- Guy Beringer, “Brunch: A Plea,” Hunter’s Weekly, 1895

All hail Guy Beringer. He had quite an idea didn’t he and over 115 years later I’m writing this on something called the ‘internet’ but very much enjoying brunch all the same.

This is a recipe I got off quite a charming site called 5 Dollar Dinners. You can find the original recipe here.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
• 250g fresh spinach
• 1 can chopped tomatoes, drained
• 2 tbsp diced onion
• 2 eggs
• Salt and pepper
• Paprika, sprinkle as garnish

Method of Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. In a large saucepan, add the olive oil and sauté the garlic for a minute, before adding the spinach.
3. Toss the spinach around for a minute, then add the diced tomatoes.
4. Toss together and then add the minced onion.
5. Let simmer until most of the liquid has cooked off, about 5-7 minutes.
6. Place the sautéed spinach into an oven proof dish, creating little wells for the eggs.
7. Crack 1 egg into each hole.
8. Bake the spinach and eggs for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until egg whites have turned white.
9. Once cooked, remove from the oven and sprinkle with salt and pepper and paprika.

First off, this is a lovely and warming meal that is really easy to make. That said, I can give you a couple of tips to make sure you get it perfect first time. So, in point 5 when it says to cook off the liquid, make sure you do this. Keep the heat quite high and keep stirring it, you really do want this as dry as possible when it goes into the oven.

Next, the recipe says 8 to 10 minutes in the oven. After 10 minutes my eggs were still translucent and then I had the oven door open and closed a few times so it seems to take ages. I would say to cook them for about 14 minutes.

Brunch is served.

That’s it though, you just need to be careful and patient. This is indeed a great brunch, breakfast, lunch or dinner.