Best Baked Brunch Eggs

Coming across this recipe may have very well changed the course of my life. I suppose I've been known to exaggerate here and there when it comes to tasty bites, but this is no drill. Get your butt to the grocery store and be the star of tomorrow's Easter brunch.

What are we making?

Baked Eggs in Italian Tomato Sugo with Ricotta and Spring Vegetables

(aka - Baked Eggs with Ricotta, Asparagus, and Fennel)

View the original recipe HERE. I made some additions because I wanted to season my ricotta. I decided on extra cheese, because duh, and some lemon zest because it would go well with the asparagus and fennel. It made for a perfect balance.

You Will Need

For the Tomato Sugo:

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 medium sweet onion, finely diced

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/2 teaspoon dried red chili flakes

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (I used the Sole D'Italia brand)

For the Ricotta:

5 Tablespoons ricotta (about 8 ounces)

1/8 cup grated pecorino romano

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tsp lemon zest

salt and pepper

Other Ingredients:

1/4 - 1/2 fennel bulb, finely sliced (save some of the tendrils for garnish)

1 bunch baby asparagus, wooded ends removed

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

salt and pepper

5 eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a cast-iron skillet or oven-safe pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and chili flakes. Salute until onion is translucent. Add the crushed tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, then bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the acidity of the tomatoes cooks out from the sauce. (Taste it, it shouldn't taste sour.)

While the tomatoes are cooking down, combine ingredients for ricotta filling in a bowl and mix to combine. 

Remove pan from heat and line the fennel slices around the edges of the pan and place asparagus in small bunches around the pan with the tops sticking out. Dot the ricotta using a tablespoon around the pan and sprinkle with some parsley and fennel tendrils (if using). 

Bake in oven for 20 minutes. Carefully remove pan from oven and make indents for 5 eggs with a tablespoon. Crack egg into each indent, top with salt and pepper and return to oven until eggs are cooked to your liking. (I like them still runny in the middle, so I cook them for about 5-7 minutes.)

Remove from oven and top with remaining parsley and fennel tendrils before serving. 

Serve with some really crusty bread to sop it all up! 

Ricotta mixture ready to be mixed!

Veggies and garnish ready to go! This recipe was really nice in that it allowed for downtime. I was able to get all my veggies cleaned, chopped, and ready to go while the tomato sauce simmered away. 

Veggies and ricotta tucked in and ready for some oven time. I sprayed the veggies with a hint of olive oil and a hit of salt. Not necessary, but I did it anyway. The original recipe has you crack the eggs in before you put everything in the oven, but that would make for way overcooked eggs. Cook all of this base first - for 20 minutes, then add the eggs at the very end and cook until the egg whites are just solid for the perfectly runny egg. 

If I haven't said it enough, I love, love, LOVE this recipe. The kick from the chili flakes in the tomato sauce combined with that creamy ricotta. The lemon zest and those just-barely-burnt tips of asparagus and fennel...

I mean, there were two of us and we were able to polish off 3/4 of this thing along with plenty of toast and bacon on the side. This is one of those dishes you sit and talk over, so take your time. 

Hope everything has a great weekend and a Happy Easter!