Eggs are pretty fantastic. There are so many ways to cook them, and they have so many uses. Some of my favorite desserts are egg-based, which probably comes from growing up in a Portuguese family where we’d eat lots of custards, eggy bread (like pão de ló, made with 9 eggs) and puddings.

But even though I frequently have them for breakfast, and love them for dessert, they just don’t seem to make it onto my lunch menu. It’s even a rare occasion for me to have a hard boiled egg on a salad.

A summery Sunday afternoon seemed the right time to change that. The original inspiration was a craving for baked eggs, but with no interest in turning on the oven and a streak of impatience, I decided to switch to skillet eggs.

Skillet eggs can come in all sorts of combinations, and if you have some pre-made sauce handy, they’re even quicker! I recommend keeping the sauce simple; you don’t want to overpower the eggs.

It was the perfect day to have lunch in the garden, where I could enjoy some of the bounty of my overfilled cupboards and sit with the potted herbs lining the fence.

Serves: 2

On the Counter: 

the sauce:
1 can (14.5 oz/400 g) of chopped tomatoes
1/2 medium white onion, diced
1 medium clove garlic, minced 
1 tablespoon (17 ml) balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon (17 g) demerara sugar
2 tablespoons (34 ml) olive oil

the eggs:
4 large eggs
chopped fresh basil and parsley
salt and pepper

8 inch/20 cm skillet/frying pan

What to Do: 

The sauce: Heat olive oil in skillet, on medium heat, until it shimmers. Add onion, cook until soft and translucent. Add garlic, cook for 2 minutes. 

Pour in can of tomatoes, stirring the garlic, onion and oil into the tomato sauce. Turn heat up to high, and stir occasionally, until the tomato sauce starts to bubble. Cook for 5 minutes. 

Add balsamic vinegar, sugar and season with salt. Stir to combine. Once the sauce has thickened a bit  (to your taste), make an egg-sized well in the sauce with a big spoon. Crack the egg into the well. Repeat for each egg. 

Cook the eggs on medium heat until they’re cooked to your taste. About 5-6 minutes leaves you with a runny yolk but a firm white, which is my preferred way to eat them. 

Once they’re finished, spoon an egg + sauce into a small bowl. Garnish with freshly chopped herbs. This goes really nicely with a bit of buttered bread on the side, which you can use to dip into the tomato sauce. 

These eggs are an easy and filling lunch meal that still leaves room for dinner!