Usually when reviewing a cookbook for this column, choosing the recipe is fairly easy. If the book’s too daunting, I typically stay in my comfort zone, like I did here. If a recipe features one of my favorite ingredients – like this one did – I pick it. But as soon as I flipped open Jane Hornby’s new cookbook, Fresh & Easy, I knew things were about to get a lot more difficult.
Not that this book is difficult. In fact, it’s the opposite. The clean, colorful layout and simple spread of ingredients makes you believe you can conquer every one of these recipes. Now you understand my problem. From the Spicy Mackerel with Orange and Radish Salad to the Sticky Fig & Ricotta Toast all the way down to the Herb-Crusted Lamb with Pea Purée & Tomatoes, I wanted to make every single recipe in this book. And the beautiful, step-by-step design convinced me that I could.
After a LOT of skimming, I decided on one of my favorite fresh and easy meals: baked eggs. Hornby calls for baking hers inside little nooks tucked into tender potatoes, wilted spinach and sweet tomatoes, with a little fresh garlic and spices thrown in. When the eggs are pulled from the oven, they’re showered with crumbled feta and sopped up with a nice, crusty loaf. (My pup could hardly keep her nose to herself.)
Fast? Yes. Easy? Absolutely. Delicious? Mostly, with a couple tweaks for next time. The main issue I had with this recipe was its vagueness in wording. The recipe called for seasoning to taste several times without any additional instruction, but the final dish simply wasn’t seasoned enough. This was my mistake; I should know that when you buy canned tomatoes, they need quite a bit of flavor enhancers. Next time, I’ll have a much heavier hand with the salt and pepper. Hornby also grabbed hot smoked paprika for this one, but a few fresh herbs could take this humble dish into must-make-again territory.
Vagueness struck again when it came to chopping the potatoes. Hornby instructed cutting the potatoes into “chunky pieces.” While I sliced them to match the photos in the book, quartering larger taters and halving the wee ones, a smaller chop would’ve made for the perfect scoop with a tear of crusty bread. As would’ve a tad more tomato sauce. Next time, I’d up the 1¼ cups to 2.
All in all, the dish was a pleaser. The dusting of feta on top added a nice creamy and salty bite to the otherwise under-seasoned sauce. With just a few minor changes, next time I’ll have an easy, make-ahead meal ideal for a sleepy Sunday morning with friends.
Baked Eggs with Spinach & Feta
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4
11 oz. new potatoes
1 clove garlic
9 oz. baby spinach
1¼ cups puréed, canned tomatoes (passata)
½ tsp. hot smoked paprika, plus a little pinch for sprinkling
2 oz. feta cheese
Good crusty bread, to serve (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the potatoes into chunky pieces, then put them into a medium pan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then boil for 10 to 15 minutes, until tender.
• While you wait for the potatoes to boil, thinly slice the garlic. Rinse the spinach in a bowl of cold water, then lift it into a colander and drain.
• When the potatoes are tender, drain them over the spinach. The hot water will wilt the leaves.
• Transfer the potatoes from the colander into 2 shallow ovenproof dishes. Squeeze as much liquid from the spinach as you can with the back of a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
• Scatter the spinach over the potatoes, then spoon the puréed canned tomatoes (passata) over them and sprinkle with the garlic. Season with salt and pepper and the ½ teaspoon smoked paprika. Make 2 wells in the vegetables, so that the eggs have somewhere to sit.
• Crack an egg into each well, then season the tops with a sprinkling of extra paprika, salt and pepper. Cut the butter into little pieces and dot it over everything.
• Put the dishes onto a baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the eggs are just set and the tomatoes are bubbling around the edges. The eggs will continue to cook once they come out of the oven, so don’t be worried if the whites still look a little runny. Crumble the cheese over the top, then serve hot with bread, if you like.
Have a favorite way to make eggs in the oven? Tell us about it in the comments section below for a chance to win a copy of Fresh & Easy: What to Cook and How To Cook It by Jane Hornby. We will announce the winner in next week’s By the Book column. And now, we’d like to congratulate Jessica, whose comment on last week’s By the Book has won her a copy of Handheld Pies. Jessica, keep an eye out for an email from the Sauce crew.
This article appears in July 2012.