Last updated on September 16th, 2018
Here’s a delicious way to “do” eggs: Bake them, sunny-side-up, on a bed of garden-fresh veggies and below a blanket of bread crumbs and Cheddar or Swiss cheese. Then you can have breakfast for dinner…or dinner for breakfast. Here’s the simple step-by-step:
First, grab a red onion…
And either dice it by hand or by machine.
My “machine” is the Mueller Onion Chopper Pro that I purchased, for a song, from Amazon. Clicky here for details and reviews.
Next, obtain up a couple of Roma (“plum”) tomatoes…
And dice them. Here again, I used the aforementioned machine.
Then dice up one green bell pepper…
And one red bell pepper.
Man, I love the chopping gizmo. You just have to be careful not to touch the blades. I’ve already cut myself on them. Twice.
Now tip a glug of olive oil into a large skillet set over medium heat, and add the diced veggies.
Season the veggies with salt and pepper…
And either saute them until tender crisp — about 7 minutes, or cover the skillet and let them steam for about 5 minutes. Again, the goal is to cook the veggies only until they are tender-crisp.
Transfer the veggies to an 8×8 non-stick baking dish, and spread them out evenly with a spatula.
Then crack 4 large eggs on top of the veggies! Season the eggs with salt and pepper.
To make the “gratin,” pour a couple of handfuls of fresh (not dried) bread crumbs into a bowl…
Add a couple of handfuls of shredded Cheddar, Swiss, or some other kind of cheese…
And add a sensible amount of fresh, roughly-minced flat-leaved parsley. I added more parsley after I snapped the above photograph.
Give the gratin mixture a toss, and then…
And then…
Scatter it evenly over the veggies and eggs!
This next step is entirely up to you: sprinkle some extra-dry vermouth over the gratin. You will need only a tiny amount of vermouth — just enough to slightly moisten the breadcrumbs. The fragrance of the vermouth will compliment the fragrance of the veggies. If you don’t have vermouth, substitute any dry white wine. Which means not Chardonnay.
Bake the works into a preheated 350°F oven until the eggs are cooked to your liking: 20 minutes for runny yolks (my favorite kind), and 25 minutes for not-so-runny yolks.
Divide the gratin among 4 plates…
And devour this rustic-but-elegant deliciousness.
xKevin
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Here’s the printable:
A simple gratin of diced vegetables, eggs, and fresh breadcrumbs and cheese. Delicious hot for dinner, or cold for breakfast.
Ingredients
- 1 red onion, roughly diced
- 2 Roma (paste) tomatoes, roughly diced
- 1 green bell pepper, roughly diced
- 1 red bell pepper, roughly diced
- 4 large eggs
- Fresh breadcrumbs -- 2 handfuls
- Shredded Cheddar cheese -- 2 handfuls
- Freshly, roughly-minced flat-leave parsley -- about 2 tablespoons
- Optional: A small amount of dry vermouth, for sprinkling (about 1 tablespoon)
Instructions
- Center the oven rack, and heat the oven to 350°F. In a skillet set over medium heat, saute the veggies until they are tender-crisp -- about 7 minutes. Transfer the veggies to a non-stick 8x8-inch baking dish, and spread them out to cover the bottom of the pan. Crack 4 eggs over the veggies, spacing the eggs at equal distances.
- Put the breadcrumbs, cheese, and parsley in a medium bowl, and toss with your hands to mix. Then scatter the mixture evenly over the eggs and veggies. Sprinkle, if you wish, with the optional dry vermouth, using just enough vermouth to barely moisten the bread crumbs.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the eggs are done to your liking -- 20 minutes for runny yolks, and 25 minutes or slightly longer for less-runny yolks. Divide among four plates, and serve. Leftover gratin is delicious for breakfast!
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Amy from the Upper Peninsula says
Hi Kevin,
Just popping by to say thanks for recommending that serrated fruit peeler you mentioned a while back – I canned peach apricot salsa today and it made preparing all of that fruit a snap! I loathed all of that previous boiling and blanching – I used to be hot and cranky by the time I even started.
Deborah says
Yummy. Funny you should post this. My grocery sells a fresh salsa in the produce department that has the exact same ingredients and diced small just like this. I’ve used it make times in scrambled eggs with good results. I think I’m going to do two batches of this recipe. One following your recipe to a “T” and the other using the salsa. In other words I’m going to see if I can take a shortcut if I ever need to. I like the idea of putting the eggs in the oven to cook. Gives you time to have another cup of iced coffee while you wait!
Cheryl says
Looks yummy! One tiny comment (because I can’t help myself, sorry!): If you have two plates, it’s “divide between.” If more than 2 plates, it’s ” divide AMONG. ” My 7th grade English teacher beat this principle (not principal) into my head and extolled us to pass it along!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Cheryl – Grammatical error has been corrected. Thanks!
Katie says
I have to admit, I’m not someone who usually enjoys cooking. I don’t watch cooking shows or (usually) buy cook books or try new recipes. But Kevin, every time you post a recipe, I want to get into the kitchen and try it out! You always make the recipes seem manageable and fun, and they always look delicious!
Mary says
This looks like something I can handle! Yummy egg dish!
Susie says
I make extra veggies for dinner and use the leftovers next day under the eggs. All good! Love Swiss chard, asparagus, any – chopped and add onion and garlic.. ummmm-hmmmmm.
Ana says
I bought the dicing gizmo – can’t wait to try it and your recipe. I also learned the proper use of “among” and “between”. Thank you for this site. It is always informative and beautifully written.
Janet G. Metzger says
Kevin
thank you for both these recipes!
Have a good day
Julie R says
We eat lots of veggies and eggs at our house, so this will be good to try. The only thing is that I don’t have vermouth on hand. But I do have roasted garlic infused red wine vinegar on hand. I’m wondering if that would be a good substitute to use.