Thursday, March 1, 2012

Creamy Egg Marinara Breakfast Dip


We know what you are thinking.  Breakfast dip?  What is this?  And who wants to dip things in the morning?  Well, we prefer the term breakfast dip over “eggs baked in tomato sauce,” and let’s face it, dipping is a super fun activity.  Don’t we all love dipping our fries, chips, crackers, vegetables, fruits, etc. into various concoctions?  And isn’t the appeal the actual act of dipping?  We believe so, and we believe wholeheartedly that dipping needs to be brought to the morning. 

The sauce recipe is adapted from Marcella Hazan’s fabulous recipe for tomato sauce with onion and butter.  We threw a bit of fresh herbs in to give it a woodsy element, and some crushed red pepper for heat.  We liked the way the sauce works with the creaminess of the freshly punctured eggs.


Ingredients 
Tomato Sauce:
28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes in juice
1 onion, peeled and cut in half
5 tablespoons butter
1 small sprig rosemary
2 sprigs thyme
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper

Dip:
7 eggs
2 cups arugula
2 garlic cloves, sliced
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup chopped basil

Baguette Dippers:
1 baguette, sliced
¼ cup olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Instructions 
To make the tomato sauce: Place tomatoes, butter, onion, rosemary, thyme, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low and continue simmering for 45 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Remove from heat and take out the onion, and sprigs of rosemary and thyme.  Seth doesn’t like chunks of tomato, so we use an immersion blender to puree the sauce.  Add crushed red pepper if desired.  I like doing this step the night before and refrigerating the sauce until I need it the next day.

To prepare the dip: Heat oven to 350.  In a baking dish, layer the arugula and place the slices of garlic over the arugula.  Put half the sauce over that.  Break the eggs into the sauce.  Cover with remaining sauce.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Bake for about 24 minutes.  The whites should be set, and the yolk should still be runny.  When done, scatter the basil on top.  We like to break the eggs as soon as the dip comes out of the oven to ensure they remain runny, and we mix it all together.

Baguette dippers:
Brush the olive oil on baguette slices.  Sprinkle the salt, freshly ground black pepper, and Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

23 comments:

  1. Yeah, I could totally eat this all myself.

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  2. Delicious!! This is actually quite similar to North African / Israeli shakshuka, one of my favorite breakfasts! They always serve it with a whole loaf of bread just for dipping. Yours looks amazing.

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    1. No kidding! We've never seen shakshuka, but now that I look at some recipes and pictures it looks pretty great. I bet those middle eastern spices take it somewhere amazing.

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  3. mann, its midnight, and you made want to make it right now!!!

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  4. This is better than cake for breakfast! Dip for breakfast! Awesome!

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  5. Ack! I just found Arugula here, which means I can now make this....I think I know what's for breakfast this weekend!

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  6. Wow, what a fun breakfast idea!!! Perfect for when my parents come to visit..yum!

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  7. I do, I'd love to dip things in the morning...especially when Parmesan, garlic, and baguettes are involved! This looks delicious. :D

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  8. This looks delicious, anything that has cheese and eggs gets my attention :)

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  9. What an awesome recipe! I love dipping stuff. And I also love breakfast. Love the creative spin.

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  10. Breakfast dip = genius. I'm loving this. I'm picturing wedges of potatoes or homefries as the dipper.

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  11. I actually really think that dippable foods taste better than non-dippable foods. this looks awesome.

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  12. I love the idea of a breakfast dip! It would be so fun to serve at a brunch!

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  13. I've been wanting to try eggs with tomato sauce forever! I like how you call this a dip! Delectable!

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  14. If this isn't an indulgent but not sickly breakfast...?! Love this and yes, definite North African/Middle Eastern theme here. The Persians have a similar dish too. Amazing colours!

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  15. This does look like a tasty creation. I like the fusion of flavors you put in here. The name alone tells me it is delicious. Well done!

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  16. Oh my! I am just learning to eat eggs, but marinara and I are BFF's and have been forever. I have got to try this immediately.

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  17. Awesome recipe!! I love eggs with tomato sauce, its really gorgeous!

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  18. Ohh, I love this dish. Beautiful presentation!!!

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  19. This comment has been removed by the author.

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