Recipe: Warm Egg Salad

Warm Egg Salad
with Tomatoes and Vinaigrette

Serves 4 as a first course

These eggs are a refreshing change from typical brunch fare.

6 eggs
3 large tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil, more for drizzling
Salt and pepper to taste
4 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
3 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley

Put the eggs in a saucepan and cover generously with water. Bring to a boil and simmer them until hard-boiled, 10 to 12 minutes. Plunge the eggs in cold water to cool them and stop the cooking. Peel them under cold running water, dry them, and halve them lengthwise.

Meanwhile, cut each tomato crosswise in 4 thick slices, discarding the ends. Set 3 tomato slices on 4 serving plates, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set them aside.

Stir together the oil, vinegar, pepper, and a large pinch of salt in a frying pan and heat it. Add the egg halves cut side down, and cook over low heat until the vinegar has evaporated. 3 to 5 minutes. Turn the eggs once or twice during cooking. With a slotted spoon, transfer the eggs to the serving plates, putting an egg half, cut side up, on top of each tomato slice.

Add the garlic to the frying pan and sauté over low heat until soft and fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the breadcrumbs and cook them until golden brown, stirring constantly, 3 to 4 minutes. Spoon the mixture over the eggs and sprinkle with parsley.

Getting ahead: Boil the eggs and slice the tomatoes an hour or two ahead, then heat the eggs in vinegar and finish the recipe just before serving.

Buy the Book!

from:
The Good Cook
70 Essential Techniques, 250 Step-by-Step Photographs, and 350 Easy Recipes
by Anne Willan
Stewart, Tabori & Chang
$40.00/Hardcover ($60.00 Canada)
250 full-color photographs by Alison Harris
ISBN: 1-58479-328-7
Recipe reprinted by permission.