Uova Affogate con Verdure Miste - Poached Eggs with Mixed Vegetables

I love poached eggs and so does Big E. One of our go-to dinners is a poached on a bed of french lentils served with wilted spinach and a loaf of crusty bread. Or sometimes, we bake the egg in the oven, which isn't quite as nice as poached but also yields the nice soft yolk.

So when I stumbled upon the Poached Egg chapter (yes, there are still chapters in this book I have not discovered), I quickly looked through it to try to locate a new one-dish poached egg dinner et voilà!

The vegetables it called for, very similar to those needed for a ratatouille, are all currently at their prime, and quite in season: 3 small eggplants, 3 tomatoes and 3 small zucchini. I diced the epplants, peeled and sliced the tomatoes (some gorgeously ugly heirlooms) and sliced the zucchini. I also diced an onion. I added the onion and eggplants to three tablespoons of olive oil that had been heating in a large skillet and cooked them for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Then, I added the tomatoes and zucchini and cooked over low heat for about thirty minutes. Now at this point, besides a little salt, that's all this recipe called for. So in the name of proper scientific method, I held out for as long as I could and tasted the mixture as it was meant to be, before finally throw in my hat (and the glass of red wine in my hand), and giving in to the urge, nay the necessity, of modifications! (In addition to the wine, I also added a bunch of chopped fresh basil. I did. I put Basil in the Ratatouille.)

The eggs were poached pretty much the way I always do: I brought a pot of salted water to boil, added a couple of tablespoons of white wine vinegar, broke in the eggs, cooked for 3-4 minutes, then scooped them out with a slotted spoon. I patted them dry, placed them on plates and surrounded them with the mixed vegetables. Some freshly ground pepper and bread to dip and you're good to go.

Oh alright. Fine! I admit it. I added one more modification: a drizzle of Argan oil. Some extra-virgin olive would work as well.

Tasty Factory: A- Ease of Preparation: B (lots of chopping) Modifications: Yes. Added a glass of red wine, some chopped basil and a drizzle of Argan oil or Extra-virgin olive oil before serving.