Years ago, Matt bought me this wonderful cookbook of just Brunch Delights for an anniversary. Given that Brunch is probably my favorite meal of the day, I thought I would be making all sorts of recipes from this book, but I confess to say that we fell in love with the French Toast and a blintz recipe, and then really never made the time to make other inventive brunches from the book because French Toast was ordered every week!
Anyways, we finally decided to make the plunge and try a different, perhaps healthier recipe and came across this one. The book claims that this is a typical Basque dish, and it really is versatile in that it suggested either serving it over bread, OR with a poached or fried egg, and then we ended up just doing all of the above to end up with a toasted piece of challah, layered with the peppers, and topped with a poached egg. If you’re not a “brunch” person, this savory dish will surely make you reconsider.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 oz prosciutto (or cooked Italian sausage instead is also delicious)
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 large ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
- 1 tsp paprika (or smoked paprika)
- Kosher salt and ground pepper
- chopped parsley for garnish
- 4 fried or poached eggs (for 4 servings)
Directions
- In a frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the proscuitto (or sausage) and cook, stirring frequently until lightly browned about 3 minutes. Add the bell peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are tender, 6-8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until it softens, about 1 minute.
- Stir in the tomatoes and cook until they give off some of their juices, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are very tender, 20-25 minutes.
- Uncover the pan and stir in the paprika. Continue to cook until the juices thicken, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- (Optional) Toast two slices of bread such as challah and put on plates.
- Divide the peppers among the bowls serving with parsley and a fried or poahed egg. Serve hot!
From Breakfast Comforts, by Rick Rodgers.
