Cocina Española Eggs on Toast Recipe
"Easy-to-make" and "delicious" are often selling points of the recipes Big Horn puts forth, but we try to put a unique, artisanal spin on things, too.
Take the tried-&-true breakfast dish of Eggs on Toast. It's such a simple yet such a tasty meal! However, we think there's always room to elevate something from "good" to "great". This week, we give the humble Eggs on Toast dish this treatment!
Our España-inspired twist on this recipe includes an olive-oil basting technique in the egg-fry process and adding an unforgettable Spanish Pantry Sauce to elevate this dish to the next level. So, with a few extra ingredients and a couple of extra steps, we turn the standard eggs on toast into the more flavorful, Spanish-inspired Cocina Española ("Spanish Kitchen") Eggs on Toast!
Ingredients:
(Recipe makes 4 servings)
Spanish Pantry Sauce*:
- 1/4 Cup of High-Quality EVOO (Any of these will do nicely!)
- 1/4 Cup of Fresh Parsley Leaves
- 2 Tbs of Whole Almonds
- 1 Tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 Tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 Tsp Freshly Ground Pepper
- 6 Sun-dried Tomatoes (From of a jar, packaged in oil)
- 3 Roasted Red Peppers (Also from a jar)
*By the way - you can store the Spanish Pantry Sauce in the fridge for up to one week after making it.
Spanish Fried Eggs
- 8, 1/2-Inch-Thick Slices of Crusty Italian Bread
- 8 Large Eggs (Go for "Pasture-Raised, Organic" if possible!)
- 1 & 3/4 Cups of High-Quality EVOO (Any of these will do nicely!)
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly Ground Pepper
Shopping done? Let's get cooking.
Instructions:
Act 1 - Be the Boss of Sauces:
Ready to make the easiest, best-tasting sauce ever? Great! Let's do it.
Grab your food processor (or, in a pinch, your blender), and toss in the olive oil, parsley, paprika, almonds, salt, pepper, red peppers, tomatoes, and garlic. Pulse the mixture until you've achieved a reasonably smooth consistency.
Feel free to opt for a consistency that fits the vibe of what you're after, of course. We might suggest a slightly grainer consistency for a more rustic feel, and a smoother consistency if you're trying to achieve something more upscale.
Bear in mind that ingredients like red peppers, tomatoes, and garlic are all be subject to the whims of nature, meaning the tastes of things can change seasonally and / or regionally. Thus, don't hesitate to taste the sauce and tweak ingredients during this mixing & pulsing process! Mix, pulse, taste, adjust, repeat until satisfied!
Act 2 - Toast with the Most:
Preheat that oven to a ripping 425 degrees F, and lay out the bread on a baking sheet.
Brush the bread with about 1/4 cup of the olive oil (both sides), and toast in your preheated oven until the bread is crispy and golden brown. This should take between 6 & 8 minutes.
Act 3 - Olive-Oil-Fried Eggs - An Omega 3 Dream:
As delicious as they are rich in Omega 3s, it's time to craft our olive-oil-fried eggs!
Heat the remaining 1 1/2 cups of EVOO in your favorite, large, nonstick pan. We don't want that olive oil to reach its smoke point (or burn the eggs!), so be sure to only use medium heat here.
Next, we'll cook the eggs in a couple of batches (4 at a time). Crack the first batch of 4 into the frying pan, making sure each egg has some room to spread out.
As the eggs fry, use a spoon to carefully baste each egg with the olive oil to cook the tops. You'll know the eggs are cooked when the edges of the whites begin to get crispy and golden brown. This should take about 3-4 minutes.
Move the first batch of eggs to a plate, and repeat the process with the remaining eggs.
Act 4 - Put it all Together:
Beauty is often found in simplicity, and this dish is a great representation of that.
Lay 2 pieces of toast on each plate, and top with a fried egg. Lightly season each egg with a bit of salt and pepper, and finish things off with a generous spoonful of the Spanish Pantry Sauce.
Serve right away while things are still warm!
Enjoy!