Tomato Pasta #3 | Pizza Baked Eggs

A thoroughly Good Egg

First, some news

My new cookbook Good Eggs is officially published today!

In the UK that is — Good Eggs has already been released in North America and Australia/New Zealand (with all the fanfare of a sparrow’s fart).

It's really simple. Just a celebration and compendium of egg dishes. But I think it’s genuinely useful and inspiring too.

This is ‘eggs’ as in eggs when they're in the centre, the reason for the dish, a frame of mind. And it's divided, ingeniously(!…), into fried, poached, boiled, baked and scrambled, folded and set. With a sixth chapter suggesting eggs that work well for groups. 

There are a few other ways in: including directories based on your mood; and also a kind of matrix that could help you build your own eggs, because let's face it, the options are infinite. You can watch a video flick-through of the book here.

The recipes are straightforward and highly cookable, more often than not using things already in your cupboards and fridge. But each has a reason for being included.

I wanted the book to be a tactile, physical, permanent version of the eggs you see on social media. So, quite deliberately, at least a third aren't really recipes at all, and you'll just need to glance at the image or the title to remind or inspire.

Another third are a tour of some of the classics from around the world. There's barely a country or cuisine that doesn't champion egg dishes, and a handful of my favourites are replicated here.

And I guess the final third are eggs with a bit of me in them. Although you'll also see that each egg has some 'also consider' ideas, so that you can make what you will of them too.

Many of us consume a considerable number of eggs per year (per week, per day!). Good Eggs adds variety and a little fun.

That's it. I hope you love it.

Some Good Eggs (credit Sam A Harris)

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Secondly, a recipe from the book

Pizza Baked Eggs

To me, this dish hits all the ‘Tomato Pasta’ notes, as it is an easy, speedy and economical meal. In fact, many Good Egg Dishes would do the same – eggs are inherently one of the quickest and cheapest ways to feed a family when cooking from scratch – but this is particularly mesmeric, with the aromatics tantalising, tempting and evoking the happiest of pizzeria memories.

The aromatics in the tomatoey base echoes the flavours of a pizza alla marinara. I’ve added a few olives and anchovies at the end, partly because they go so well with eggs, but also because they’re the best pizza toppings (don’t @ me).

For bread to mop up, anything you have will work. Although I note that toasted supermarket pitas do an excellent impression of leftover pizza crusts.

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For 2 (easily doubled … but best done so in an additional pan)

1 x 400g (14oz) can finely chopped tomatoes (or passata)

1 clove garlic, finely sliced

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

6–8 small olives (such as the Taggiasca variety)

1 basil sprig, plus a few extra leaves to garnish

Pinch flaky sea salt

2–4 medium eggs

2–4 salted anchovies in oil

Freshly grated Parmesan

Warm bread, to serve (pitas or similar puffy flatbreads work well here)

1. Empty the tomatoes into a 26–28cm (10½–11in) sauté pan or low casserole with a lid and place over a medium-high heat. Add the garlic, oregano, olive oil, olives, basil sprig and a big pinch of salt. Stir and simmer energetically for 5 minutes until slightly thickened (but not stiff).

2. Crack the eggs into the sauce, ideally far enough apart that they don’t immediately touch each other. Reduce the heat a little, cover and gently simmer for 2½–3 minutes until the whites are set. Remove from the heat. If the whites aren’t firm by this point, keep the pan off the hob, but return the lid and check again after 30–60 seconds.

3. Spoon the eggs and sauce into shallow bowls. Lay an anchovy over each egg and garnish with a few basil leaves and a dusting of Parmesan. Serve with warm bread for swiping.

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Thirdly, and most importantly, The Egg Team

All the images in the post are from Good Eggs, so were taken by Sam A Harris and are crisp AF. We worked together on my previous cookbook Crave, so it was great to do so again.

Sam was assisted by Matthew Hague; Sam Dixon food-styled with some help/bother from me (she did most of the cooking and all of the admin); the ever excellent Anna Wilkins prop-styled; Claire Rochford is responsible for the pitch perfect design; Stacey Cleworth was the project editor; Emily Preece-Morrison copy-edited; Tamsin English double-triple-checked; and it’s published by Quadrille Hardie Grant. I’m indebted to them all, and you should grab a copy (please and thank you).