In wrapping up our month of breakfast recipes we turn to comfort food this week. A hot breakfast with eggs evokes a real sense of well being in our house, possibly because it means that we all have time to actually sit and commune.

We have two variations of eggs poached in a tomato sauce to consider. Firstly, a Southwestern spiced dish with smoked paprika, chili and cumin reminiscent of the Moroccan egg dish Shakshouka, and, an Italian version with dried green herbs. Both can be served with toasted slices of crusty bread or flatbreads and pita, to soak up the sauce and soft egg.

Consider this for a weekend or holiday slow cooker brunch recipe or simple breakfast-for-dinner “brinner” fix, using eggs. Leave the tomatoes bubbling away into a sticky sauce while you’re gone, then poke holes for the eggs and crack them in one by one and leave to poach. Once again, the sauce can be made ahead of time and reheated for breakfast on the stovetop, adding the eggs before breakfast.

To make this dish even simpler to prepare, the Southwest Fiesta and Marinara Slow Cooker Spice Blends are available on our online store with a special offering of buy 2 and get one free for the month of October. Just remember to put a note in your online order.

Italian Baked Eggs or Shakshouka 2016-09-27 16:11:06 Prep Time: 10m, Cook Time: 6 hours LOW / 3 hours HIGH Servings: 4 Save Recipe Print Italian Baked Eggs 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil / butter 1 small onion, minced 1 1/2 tsp / 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 x 14 oz cans of diced or crushed tomatoes 2 tbsp tomato paste 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp oregano, dried 1 tsp basil, dried 1/4 tsp celery salt 1/4 tsp chili flakes 1/2 teaspoon sugar 4 large eggs 1/4 cup chopped parsley additional salt and pepper to taste slices of rustic bread, grilled North African Shakshouka 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil / butter 1 small onion, minced 1 1/2 tsp / 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 x 14 oz cans of crushed tomatoes 2 tbsp tomato paste 1 tsp chili powder 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp smoked paprika pinch of cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon sugar 4 large eggs 1/4 cup chopped parsley additional salt and pepper to taste pita, flatbreads or lavash Instructions heat the oil or butter in a small saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic for 3 minutes until softened transfer the onion and garlic mixture to the slow cooker stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, basil, celery salt, chili flakes and sugar cover and cook for 3 hours on HIGH or 6 hours on LOW remove the lid and make 4 wells in the sauce, crack the eggs into the well cover and cook on HIGH for a further 20-30 minutes serve sprinkled with fresh chopped parsley and toasted bread Notes Unlike a traditional tomato sauce or Marinara for pasta dishes, this doesn't contain any additional liquid such as red wine. For that reason, we recommend that you follow the cook times as noted in this recipe. Zen of Slow Cooking Blog https://www.blog.thezenofslowcooking.com/

Zen Moment

“..food that gives emotional comfort to the one eating it, these tend to be favorite foods of childhood, or linked to a person, place or time with which the food has a positive association.”

-Urban Dictionary