Baked eggs with sausage and beans

For the Project Runway finale, Liz and I went out to Motorino beforehand and had a great salad that involved figs and bacon and gorgonzola and then the totally kick-ass Pugliese pizza with burrata and sausage and broccolini. The restaurant was great: BYOB, at least for now, though they have a bartender on staff so that likely won't last long, and really delicious, reasonable food. It totally deserves all of the panting adoration the blognoscenti have been unleashing upon it. The pizzas aren't huge — I could eat a whole one in a sitting if I needed to for some reason — but splitting a salad and a pizza left us both satisfied and comfortable, but with enough room to polish off a rather shocking number of those little Trader Joe's sea salt mini-brownies while we watched Leanne kick ass.

This, however, is something that Liz and I made a few weeks ago, for the second-to-last episode of Project Runway that I somehow neglected to post about, which is a pity because it's a good one.
We used this recipe as the jump-off point, but substituted some chicken andouille sausage for the chorizo, and fresh tomatoes plus some sauce instead of canned and we added cheese on top. We had more of a liquid component than the recipe as written so when it came time to add the eggs, I had to use two large spoons to hold back the tomato/bean mixture to create space for the eggs without just plopping them on top. It all worked out.
It was perfect for a cold night when we wanted something that cooked up pretty quickly and it was delicious and hearty and all that good stuff. I've been wanting to eat more egg dishes lately, which is unusual for me, so I foresee myself playing around with this basic setup throughout the winter. I think a version with curry spices would be great. Or a black bean version with spinach or kale. And it reheated decently well the next day. I chopped the egg up, mixed it into the rest of my portion and heated the whole thing up. I think I ate it straight with some bread on the side, but thinking back, it would have been outstanding over a baked potato.
Baked eggs with beans and sausage
recipe from Stonesoup

2 T. olive oil

4 spicy sausages, sliced

1 large red onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, peeled & sliced

1 t dried oregano

1 large can tomatoes

4T tomato paste

1/4 c. red wine vinegar

2 large cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

4 eggs

3/4 c. shredded cheese (we used Trader Joe's Mexican blend)

Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil in a cast-iron skillet. Cook sausage over medium heat until well browned. Remove from the pan and reserve. Add onion to the pan and cook until softened. Add garlic and cook for a few more minutes before adding oregano, tomatoes, tomato paste and vinegar. Season and bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally for 15 min. or until sauce has thickened.

Stir through beans and chorizo and smooth over top. Bring back to a simmer and remove from the heat. Using a spoon, make 4 egg sized indentations in the bean mixture and crack an egg into each hole. Bake for 10 min., then sprinkle cheese over the top and put back in for five minutes or until egg whites are just cooked but the yolks are still lovely and runny. Remembering that this dish holds its heat so the egg will continue to cook after you remove it from the oven.

Serve with toast and salad.

[originally posted on my old food blog 10.24.2008]