Eggs En Cocotte With A Basque Piperade Food

EGGS EN COCOTTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Rub the inside of 6 ramekins with the butter and then season with the thyme, distributing both equally amongst the ramekins. Add 2 eggs to each, season with salt and pepper. Place the ramekins in a baking dish, and pour water into the baking dish until it is halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Carefully place the baking dish in the pre-heated oven. Bake eggs for 15 minutes, or until set and golden on top. Eat and enjoy!

SOUTHERN EGGS EN COCOTTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cook the sausage in a skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through. Remove the sausage to a paper towel to drain. Use the rendered sausage fat to grease 4 large individual ramekins, (gratin dishes or individual cast iron pots work too) and arrange them on a rimmed sheet tray.
• In a large saucepan, over medium heat, bring the water and half-and-half to a boil and season with salt, to taste. Rapidly whisk in the grits. Continue whisking while returning to a boil, about 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until thick and creamy, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes. Season with pepper and more salt, if needed.
• Divide the cooked grits between the prepared baking dishes and top each with cooked sausage and grated cheese. Make a divot with the back of a spoon into the cheese and sausage topped grits. Crack the eggs, 1 at a time, into a small bowl and top the ramekins with the eggs. Bake until the egg whites are almost, but not fully set, about 10 to 15 minutes. For more well-done eggs, bake until the whites are set.

PIPERADE (BASQUE SCRAMBLED EGGS)

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large saute pan and cook onion until softened and beginning to turn golden. Add peppers and cook 15 minutes, until tender. Add tomatoes, garlic, basil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer until tomatoes are pulpy. Thoroughly beat eggs in a small bowl, add to tomato mixture, and stir until they begin to thicken; remove from heat before they solidify. Serve on heated plates, topped with fried ham slice or slices, and surrounded with croutons.;

BASQUE EGGS MY WAY

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a saute pan. Add the onions and cook until soft. Add the garlic, chile peppers, green peppers and red peppers. Cook until tender. Finally, add the tomatoes, season with salt and black pepper, cover and cook 10 minutes. Remove the lid and continue cooking until the juices have evaporated and everything is soft and melded.
• Crack the eggs into the pan, spaced evenly apart. Sprinkled with more salt and black pepper. Cover and cook until just done, with the yolks still nice and runny. Meanwhile, make four "nests" of ham on serving plates. When the eggs are done, lift them along with their peppery garnishes with a spatula into the nests. Serve very hot with toasted baguette.

PIPERADE BASQUAISE

Steps:

• Prepare the piperade by first heating the 4 tablespoons of fat of your choice in a heavy 8-inch frying pan or, better still, in a small oval copper or enamel pan that you can bring to the table. Add the chopped onions and garlic and cook them for about 5 minutes over moderate heat, stirring them frequently until they are soft but not brown. Stir in the pepper strips, turning them in the fat now and then, letting them cook for about 10 minutes, at which point they should be tender but still crisp. Drain the chopped tomatoes thoroughly and add them to the pan, sprinkling in at the same time the dried or fresh basil and the pepper flakes or hot pepper sauce. Raise the heat and cook the tomatoes briskly for a few minutes and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until all their moisture has evaporated. Be careful that the piperade doesn't burn. Put it aside until you are ready to reheat and serve it.
• At that point, combine 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and butter in an 8-inch heavy frying pan, and over moderate heat, cook the julienned ham for a few minutes until the strips are thoroughly heated through. Remove them at once with a slotted spoon and spread them out on paper toweling to drain.
• Meanwhile let the fat in the frying pan cool to lukewarm before pouring it into the eggs, lightly beaten with salt and pepper. Over low heat, stir the eggs with a rubber spatula until they begin to form soft, creamy curds. Remove them from the heat when they are not quite set and gently spread them over the reheated piperade. Let some of the colorful vegetables show through. Lightly scatter the ham on top, sprinkle with the chopped parsley and/or chopped chives, and serve at once.

EGGS BAKED IN PIPéRADE

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.
• Cook onion and bell peppers in oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet, covered, over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 7 to 8 minutes. Add paprika and garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juice and cook, uncovered, until vegetables are tender, 5 to 9 minutes.
• Warm eggs (still in shell) in a bowl of hot water 5 minutes, then drain.
• Transfer vegetables to a 3-quart shallow baking or gratin dish and make 8 indentations in mixture with back of a large spoon. Crack an egg into each indentation and season with salt and pepper. Bake until egg whites are set but yolks are still slightly runny, 8 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with feta and serve immediately.

POACHED EGGS IN PIPéRADE

Steps:

• Heat oil in heavy 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add onion, bell peppers, and garlic; sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and sauté until soft, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread mixture evenly in skillet. Carefully break eggs over vegetable mixture, spacing evenly. Sprinkle eggs with salt and pepper; cover skillet and reduce heat to low. Cook eggs until whites set but yolks are still soft, about 5 minutes.
• Using wide spatula, transfer 2 eggs with vegetable mixture underneath to each plate. Spoon remaining vegetables around eggs. Sprinkle pipérade with feta cheese and serve.

EGGS PIPERADE

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add bell peppers and garlic; saute 5 minutes.
• Add thyme, salt, ground red pepper, and tomatoes; cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook 7 minutes or until bell peppers are tender.
• Uncover, and cook 1 minute or until liquid almost evaporates.
• Gently stir in eggs; cover, and cook 3 minutes or until set.
• Garnish with parsley, if desired.
• Cut into wedges.