Comfort Food: Eggs in Purgatory

First, I must confess that I have definitely slacked off on writing in this blog.  I've actually been really lax on writing in my online journal, too.  Work has blocked all blog and personal sites, which totally sucks.  Although, I find it super funny that Facebook still works.  Anyway, I haven't slacked off on ideas or cooking or taking pictures of what I have been cooking.  So, I am behind, but I promise I'll catch up.  Eventually...

My godmother gave me a waffle iron, coffee mugs, and a brunch cookbook (aptly named Brunch!) for my bridal shower gift.  First, I've always wanted a waffle iron.  I love waffles.  The cookbook was really cool, especially since Marshall and I meet with a particular group of friends each Saturday for breakfast and then once a month one of us hosts a homemade brunch/breakfast.  This time, however, I looked to it for something quick, easy and light to make for dinner one night.  I came across this dish called "Cucurumao" (pronounced "goo-ga-de-mow").  I looked at the corresponding photo and it was intriguing.  The dish is similar to one called "Eggs in Purgatory".  I was so intrigued, I picked it for dinner.  I figured it would be great with a salad and some lovely toasted Italian bread.

Essentially this dish boils down to is poached eggs in tomato sauce.  The tomato sauce for this recipe is a very simple marinara.  The "purgatory" part in the name comes from the fact that the sauce is spicy.  You put the two together and I honestly did not think it would end up being as good as it was.  It was delicious and so incredibly warming.  It was total comfort food.  My comfort food is soft, or mushy, polenta with tomato sauce and Italian sausage.  It's what I get every year at the local Italian festival.  This dish, though, is a definite close second.  It's a perfect dinner dish, too, because it is much heavier than what I would normally want for brunch or breakfast.



Cucurumao
Serves 3-4

2 Tbs. Olive Oil
1 medium-sized Onion, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
Red Pepper Flakes, to taste
1 28-ounce can Whole Tomatoes with Juice
Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste
4 Fresh Basil Leaves, torn
6 Large Eggs

1.  Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat.  Add the onions and garlic and sauté until soft and slightly golden, about 4 minutes.  Add garlic and sauté for an additional minute, until fragrant.  Finally, add the red pepper flakes and sauté for 1 minute.
2.  Add the tomatoes.  Crush them before adding them whole to the pan OR you can break them up with a spoon directly in the pan.  Chef's Note:  I place a colander over the pan and empty the contents of the can into the colander.  With my hands, I break up the whole tomatoes, removing any tough bits.  This allows the juice to drain directly into the pan.  Once the tomatoes are crushed, I simply empty the contents of the colander into the pan.  I learned this technique from my Mom.
3.  Cook until fairly thick, about 20 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  If you find that the sauce is too acidic, you can add a pinch of sugar at this point, as well.  I rarely find that I need the sugar.  If you don't want to use plain granulated sugar, you can simply add some shredded carrot, which will add enough balance of sweet against the tomatoes.
4.  Stir in the basil leaves.
5.  Make 6 impressions into the sauce with the back of a spoon, and break 1 egg into each depression.  Cover each egg with a little tomato sauce.  Cover the pan and cook over medium heat, until eggs are the desired doneness.  If you cook for 4 minutes, you'll get somewhere between over-medium and over-hard eggs.  If you want your eggs more runny, cook for only 3 minutes.

I served my eggs over thick pieces of toasted Italian bread.  I drizzled each side of the bread with olive oil and placed under the broiler.  You can add a little more garlic to the dish, by taking a raw garlic clove and rubbing it on the freshly toasted bread!  Of course, you can always sprinkle with cheese, but by this point I was so ready to dig in, I went without.


bon appetit!

Recipe credit:  Gand, Gayle and Christie Matheson, Gale Gand's BRUNCH! 100 Fantastic Recipes for the Weekend's Best Meal, 2009, Clarkson Potter/Publishers, New York.

A Light Meal: Zucchini Frittata

I would like to state up-front, that you'll have to forgive me for the photos.  I'm not that great behind the camera and sadly I didn't have my trusty side-kick husband to help take pictures.  This is also the reason why I don't have any preparation pictures.  In any case, let's get on with the show, shall we?

Last night called for a light meal of sorts.  Later this week we're planning on eating brisket, so I thought we'd even out things with something light to start:  Zucchini Frittata with Parmesan.  My mom made frittatas (the Italian version of the Spanish tortilla) all the time when I was little.  She used it as a way to get rid of leftover vegetables in the fridge or when she was pressed for time.  It's a great quick dish when you want something light, but substantial.  You can pretty much use any vegetable or meat you like in it, too, which makes for a very flexible dish.  The basics call for eggs and milk, it's up to the cook to fill in the rest.  Anything you'd put in a scramble, or omelette, or quiche would be just fine in a frittata.  The great thing is you don't have to worry about making a crust!  This particular frittata also gave me an excuse to try out our new mandoline slicer (an awesome wedding gift).  The mandoline made slicing up the zucchini very easy and allowed for uniform slice size and ultimately uniform cooking throughout. Obviously, you can easily chop and slice with a knife; you certainly don't need a special slicer.  Just remember to try and keep the slices as evenly as possible, otherwise you'll end up with possible soggy thin pieces next to hardly cooked thick ones.

This particular frittata turned out beautifully.  It was tasty and delicious and the green of the zucchini was beautiful next to the browned cheesy crust on top.  I paired it with a lovely green salad with carrots, celery, green onions, garlic-stuffed olives, and cherry tomatoes with bright sherry vinegar and olive oil.  The sharp acidity cut through the rich egg of the frittata.  I also had a glass of Tobin James Chardonnay, but that's neither here nor there (Marshall went for a New Belgium Mothership Wit, instead)!




Zucchini and Parmesan Frittata
(FYI:  The measurements here are merely estimates.  Like a lot of my everyday recipes, I don't measure out anything, except for the big ingredients.)
 
6 whole eggs
1/4-1/2 cup of half-and-half (you could easily use whole or whatever level of fat milk you prefer)
1 tsp dried tarragon
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg (fresh is best, if possible)
salt and pepper (to taste)
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
4 small zucchini, thinly sliced
1 Tbs olive oil (personally, I like to use half butter, half olive oil)

Preheat your broiler with rack in the upper-middle of the oven.  In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs and half-and-half.  Add in the tarragon (breaking up the leaves, if they're big), nutmeg, and salt and pepper.  Stir in about 3/4 of the grated cheese into the egg mixture, then fold in the zucchini slices.

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick (oven-safe) fry pan over medium heat (medium-high, if using a gas range).  Once the pan is well heated, add in the egg mixture.  Run a rubber spatula around the edges of the pan and lightly scrambling the egg in the middle (you want to keep the egg as flat in the pan as possible, but you don't want it to stick).  Shake the pan lightly every once in a while and once the mixture is set (not wobbling or liquid-like), sprinkle the rest of the grated parmesan cheese over the top and place under the broiler.  Bake for roughly 10-12 minutes, until the frittata is cooked through and the top is a golden brown.  Allow to rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.

This particular recipe serves 4 as a main dish (1 serving being a quarter of the whole firttata) and can serve many more as a side dish.  It can even be cut up into small appetizer-size servings, as well (my sister's dad makes these all the time for parties)

bon appetit!