Barb’s Baked Eggs

Barbara Fenzl made the most delicious egg dish for her classes at Les Gourmettes this semester. One of my favorite egg dishes ever – and I love eggs, so that’s saying something!

I made it on Thanksgiving morning. We usually don’t have a big breakfast on turkey day because we generally eat the big feast in the early afternoon. Dave and the kids have the tradition of taking a long hike in the morning to leave me doing what I do best – in peace and quiet. Since we weren’t planning to eat dinner until 6:00, I figured that a nice breakfast would be perfect when they returned from their hike.

Before I say that it was perfect, I will admit that I severely undercooked the eggs, so it wasn’t all that it should have been. I used a different type of dish to bake the eggs than Barb used, and it made a world of difference. My casserole was too deep and the eggs didn’t cook as well as they did in Barb’s shallow flat au gratin dish.

Barb found her individual porcelain au gratin/casserole dishes at Standard Restaurant Supply at 2922 E McDowell Road in Phoenix, they cost $2.50 each. And I found my Le Creuset mini cocottes, which are not great for this egg dish but are adorable and amazing for French onion soup – at Sur La Table. They cost considerably more but did not do the job this time!

One change I made in Barb’s recipe was to replace the 1/2 cup green chilies plus 1 cup water she used with 1 cup of the Trader Joe’s Hatch Valley Salsa (that I love so much) plus 1/2 water.

Since I’ve had it both ways, I can honestly say the difference in taste is minimal, so if you have the salsa on hand, use it!

An unplanned and unexpected side benefit for me was that I was only making 5 servings of this for breakfast but the sauce makes enough for 8 servings. I used the leftover green chile sauce in my Turkey Enchiladas with my leftover Thanksgiving bird!

So Good!!! This is going to be my go-to enchilada sauce from here on out.

Baked Eggs with Wilted Arugula in Green Chile Sauce

• Green Chile Sauce
• 1 pound tomatillos, husked, washed, and cut in half
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup peeled and roughly chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 2 serrano chiles, seeded and chopped
• 2 cups cilantro leaves and tender stems
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup Trader Joe’s Hatch Valley Salsa and 1/2 cup water (or 1/2 cup roasted, peeled, and diced green chiles plus 1 cup of water)
• 4 green onions, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

• Arugula and Eggs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
• 2 cups baby arugula, washed
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 16 egg
• 1/2 cup finely grated cotija cheese

Sauce:  Preheat the broiler and line a baking sheet with foil. Put the tomatillo halves, cut side down, on the prepared baking sheet.

Broil until blistered and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Change oven setting from broil to bake and heat to 350 degrees.

While tomatillos are under the broiler, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté the onion and garlic until softened about 5 minutes.

Transfer to a blender along with the serrano cilantro, salt, Hatch Valley salsa, (or green chilies) water, and green onions.

When the tomatillos are done, transfer them to the blender along with any juices that have accumulated on the baking sheet. Puree until smooth, about 2 minutes.  Add the lime juice, sugar, and cream, taste and adjust the seasoning and set aside.

Arugula and Eggs: Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and bell pepper and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes.

Add the arugula and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring until the arugula is wilted, about 2 minutes.

Divide the sauce among 8 individual oval au gratin or casserole dishes (8-ounce size). Crack 2 eggs over the sauce in each dish; surround the eggs with come of the wilted arugula and sprinkle cotija cheese over all.

Bake until eggs are set but yolks are still runny about 15 to 18 minutes.

Serves 8