February 24: Eggs-traordinary Spanish-Style Stuffed Toasty Baskets with Lemony Greens

1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 links of chorizo, casing removed, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
   Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 slices soft white sandwich bread
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
2 small vine-ripe tomatoes, chopped
8 eggs
   Grated Parmesan, for sprinkling

3 tablespoons chopped green olives with pimiento
6 cups mixed greens
   Salad dressing and toppings of your choice

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Preheat a medium skillet over medium heat, add the EVOO and the diced chorizo, and cook for 3 minutes, or until the chorizo is cooked through.

Add the garlic, onions, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Cook until the onions start to turn translucent, about 3 minutes.

With a serrated knife, cut the crusts from the bread. With your fingertips or a rolling pin, flatten or roll out each slice of bread as thin as you can get it. Nestle each thin slice of bread into the cup of a nonstick standard 1/2 cup muffin tin, pushing the bread down on the bottom of the tin and pushing it up the sides of the tin. The bread will reach the top of each tin and be slightly above the rim. If the bread breaks or tears, just smoosh it together a little, it will still be fine. (If you do not have a nonstick muffin tin, liberally brush your muffin tin with some additional melted butter, then proceed with nestling the bread in each buttered cup.) Brush the bread with the melted butter.

 

Add the tomatoes to the chorizo and onions. Turn the heat up and toss around to evaporate some of the tomato liquid, about 1 minute.

Working one at a time, crack the eggs into a small bowl and then carefully transfer to the bread-lined muffin tins. The goal is to not break the yolk. Sprinkle each egg with a little salt and pepper.

 

Top each egg with one eighth of the tomato-onion mixture and then sprinkle each one with a little grated cheese. Place in the hot oven and bake for 15 minutes.

 

In a bowl, dress your salad with desired dressing and toppings.

 

To serve, use a butter knife to nudge the cooked toast and eggs out from each tin and onto a plate. Garnish with the green olives and serve with the dressed salad.

4 SERVINGS

 

These toasty baskets are good, but I liked the ones with bacon better. If you eat toasty baskets a lot, and are looking for a way to mix it up a little, by all means, make the spanish ones. If you are trying them for the first time, make the original ones.

I changed this recipe the same way I changed the Master Recipe. I doubled the eggs basket ingredients: It calls for 1 per person, but I made it for 2 per person. I changed the salad from lemony greens to use-your-own dressing. If you want the recipe for lemony greens, see my entry from Feb. 22. Oh, and I reduced the olive oil from 1 tablspoon to 1 teaspoon. You probably don't even need it, because the chorizo is so greasy.