Baked Eggs with Ratatouille

About

A favorite French recipe, this dish includes a variation of summer vegetables including peppers, onion, tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant with herbs that are typically grown in Provence like basil and oregano.

Serves 4

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, red pepper, banana pepper and garlic to the pan and sauté until tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the tomato paste and continue cooking for 3 to 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant and cook until tender, about 10 minutes, adding water as necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper. This can be done up to 2 days ahead and kept refrigerated.

Preheat oven to broil.

If the ratatouille was done ahead and kept cold, gently re-warm over medium heat. Spoon about ½ cup of the ratatouille into a cocotte, crack 2 eggs on top of the ratatouille and place the cocottes in the broiler and cook until the egg whites are just barely set, about 5 minutes; serve hot with Parmesan and basil on top.

 

Ingredients

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, cut into ½-inch
   dice
1 red bell pepper, seeded and
   cut into ½-inch dice
1 banana pepper, seeded and
   cut into ½-inch dice
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 tomatoes, seeded and cut into
   ½-inch dice
2 small zucchini, cut into ½-
   inch dice
1 medium eggplant, peeled and
   cut into ½-inch dice
8 eggs
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup julienned fresh basil
- fine sea salt and freshly
   ground pepper

Special Equipment

4 6-inch cocottes