Dad’s Eggs & Tomatoes

This meal is like breakfast and dinner together. While I can't stomach that glaring egg in Pho, I am more than happy to see some friendly white saucers of egg floating on a sea of tomatoes.

Here are the basics you'll need: onions, tomatoes, olive oil, and eggs. You can flavor it with some Red Pepper Flakes, and sprinkle Parmesan on top, but those aren't required eating.

Eggs & Tomatoes Recipe

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 medium onion
• 1 cup canned whole plum tomatoes (8 oz.)*
• Red pepper flakes
• 4 eggs

*I think Dad doubled and adapted the recipe, because he used a 28 oz. can of tomato and cooked 7 or 8 eggs. He also added diced tomatoes.

Instructions:

1. Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a frying pan (or cast iron skillet) on medium heat.
2. Sip some prosecco.
3. Chop an onion, add to the pan, and then saute it for 3 minutes.
4. Add one large can of tomatoes and red pepper flakes. Leave on medium-high heat for 20 minutes. Smush the tomatoes as they start to really heat up.
5. Pick out the dinner wine to pair with your meal, like a red blend. Take a sip or two.
6. Add 8 eggs, leaving space between each. Cover pan, and let cook for about 5 minutes.

Serve once eggs are completely done on top, so that the whites are no longer clear.

Why try Uova Fra Diavolo?

Not that it takes much convincing for me to try a new dish, but dad won me over easy. He said this dish has everyday ingredients, it's easy to throw together, and it's a savory solution for a lazy weeknight. With that description, it could've tasted like dirt, and I still would find it a nice alternative to a stressful meal that takes forever to prepare or resorting to cereal.

Dad suggested I try making tomato and eggs sometime. The name doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, but before it's translated, it's better. It's uova fra diavolo in Italian. The name actually refers to spicy eggs and tomatoes. According to the Stanley Tucci recipe blog, the dish is derived from "Shakshuka, which features eggs poached in a spicy, flavorful tomato sauce."

Sunday Night Dinners

It was decided that Dad would teach me to make this dish at the next Sunday night dinner. Mom often cooks, which made this different. I liked his French Toast and steaks, and now I would get to learn something Italian.

The Prosecco cork was popped, and we started sipping from our flutes while dad laid out the plan for dinner. We normally stand on ceremony with a quick happy Sunday night toast, but tonight we got right to business - the business of cooking dinner.

This recipe is from Stanley Tucci. Dad's been into Tucci's take on Italy for a while. He showed us his favorite episodes of Stanley Tucci's: Searching for Italy after a few Sunday night dinners. He loved the food featured on the show.

Sizzles & Salussolias

Dad also likes making food from Pasquale Sciarappa, an Italian chef in New Jersey, who makes simple and delicious meals with entertaining videos. Maybe this interest in Italian cooking is because of dad's heritage. His family is from Northern Italy. I married into this family so technically he's my father-in-law (tomato, tomahto). He loves the sizzle and smell of garlic, onion, and tomato. And Eggs & Tomatoes features the latter two.

For quite some time, I have been obsessed with tomatoes, marinara, sauce, and pesto. (I wrote an ode to spaghetti sauce, called "The Rhyme of the Ancient Marinara'). I dabble in growing tomatoes and basil. Cooking onions started to dominate my time when I entered my French Onion soup phase, but that's another story.

Personally, I would say sauteing fresh garlic and onion is a natural antidepressant. Having bad day? Breathe in the fragrant sizzle. I've had some bad days. Onions helped.

Let's Eat!

We chose a red blend to pair with our Eggs & Tomatoes.

In those 6 simple steps, dad prepared a scrumptious family dinner in a frying pan. We served it in bowls, and put bit of Parmesan on the table. It wasn't necessary, but it was nice. We had bacon and bread to really make it a meal to sink your teeth into. Plus, since it was an unusual dish for our five-year-old, we wanted her to have other food to eat. It was so tasty. Kind of like the best of chili and spaghetti (the red sauce), but in a milder, less heavy form. The added dimension of breakfast eggs made this an interesting and filling.

I had seconds of the eggs and the wine.