A Life Changing Meal

Sometimes you stumble upon a recipe that really, really changes your life. I know that this sounds crazy and dramatic, but seriously this happens. At least to me. My most recent life changing discovery was Eggs in Purgatory. Everyday, I get about a million recipes emailed to me. Usually, I don't even bother to open them but when an email came in with all egg recipes, I had to open it. I love eggs. And I especially love poached eggs (Eggs Benedict is my favorite thing for brunch. Ever.). Anyways, in this email there was a recipe for Shakshuka or eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce. After some research, I decided that I was going to have to make this dish in some form. I settled on the Eggs in Purgatory variation because I happened to have a lot of the stuff on hand already. In fact, that is the beauty of this dish - it can be made from whatever combination of herbs and spices and cheese you have on hand. The ingredients magically come together in about 20 minutes to form a completely heavenly dish best complemented by some crusty bread. So easy, so fast, so amazing. It has become a weekly (at least) staple for me. I usually eat it for dinner, but it also makes for a great brunch. I personally like to eat it out of the pan (less dishes) while giving thanks to the first person to think of making this dish. So, go on and make it. Now. It might change your life too.

Ingredients (for a single serving):

- Olive oil

- A clove or two of garlic, minced.

- Half an onion

- 1-2 tomatoes, chopped

- 1-2 jalapenos, finely chopped

- Some spices (I used Whole Foods Grind to a Salt which has nice little mix of stuff in it. Get creative. Have fun.)

- 1/2 cup or so of water

- Spinach (optional)

- 2 eggs

- A handful of basil, chopped

- A bit of feta

Cook it up:

1. Heat some olive oil in a medium sized pan. Throw in the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds. Add in the onion and cook until the onion is translucent and soft. 

2. Add in the tomatoes, jalapenos, and spices. Add in some water. The amount you add will depend on the consistency you want for your sauce. Simmer it all for about 10 minutes to bring all the flavors together. Add salt and pepper to taste. If desired, you could put the mixture in a food processor/blender at this point to make a smoother sauce. I liked the texture as it was, so I chose not to do that. Plus, that just makes more dishes. And food processors suck to clean. I did, however, decide to stir in a nice big handful of chopped spinach and cook until it was just wilted.

3. Turn the heat to low-ish. Make a little well in the tomato mixture and crack an egg in. A little ways away, make another well for the second egg and crack it in as well. 

4. Put a lid on the pan and cook until the eggs are set. I like to cook mine for about 10 minutes so that the whites are set, but the yolk is still runnnnny. If you prefer a less runny yolk, cook it longer. 

5. Top it all off with some cheese and basil! Eat with a nice piece of bread. I had some toasted ciabatta with butter. HOLY YUMGASM!