Baked eggs with spinach and slow roast tomatoes

Having been sent an excellent book called Breakfast for Dinner (more about that soon once I have decided what to cook from it), I have been thinking about breakfast recipes a lot. Like, at four in the morning after a night feed when really I shouldn’t be thinking about breakfast recipes – or anything for that matter apart from going back to sleep. I also over ordered on some spinach via Ocado (seem to do that a lot – either too big or too small bags of things), hence another eggy brunch recipe dish, but this time with spinach.

I know one shouldn’t blow one’s own trumpet… But I am about to do just that. This was so delicious and easy that I literally did not stop saying “This is sooo nice” over and over to my Toddler whilst eating it like. I was shocked, happily so, at how easy it was to create a wholesome and really quite posh dish. He also loved it and my prediction that it would be a great way to get spinach into him was correct. Dressed in a cheesy, creamy sauce, he lapped that spinach up, no problem. The slow roasted tomatoes went perfectly with it, counteracting the creamy eggs with their tart, caremelised sweetness.

I shall be making this again, no doubt about it. In fact I am certain it is going to become a family favourite due to it’s ease, wholesomeness, and tastiness. That, to me, is 100% success. I apologise for the not very accurate measurements, but that’s how I made it. It isn’t a dish that relies on exact amounts to be successful.

Serves: 2 adults
Prep time: 2 minutes 
Cook time: 15 minutes (plus an hour for the tomatoes if you choose to do them too)
Total time: 15 minutes (plus an hour for the tomatoes)

Ingredients: 
4 x eggs, as fresh as possible.
2 handfuls of spinach
About 8 tablespoons of cream
Butter, for greasing the dishes first and a few knobs on top
Grating of mature cheddar (or parmesan would be good too)
Freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper

For the tomatoes:
About 6 tomatoes, on the vine
Splash of olive oil
Sat and pepper

Instructions: 

1. You’ll need some small dishes (or 1 larger one): cocottes, or ramekins, or cazuelitas like I used. Preheat the oven to 190C.
2. Firstly, if serving with roasted tomatoes, put your oven on to about 150 C and slow roast for about an hour, whole, with a splash of oil on top, and some seasoning, and still on the vine.
3. Remove from oven and increase heat to 190C for the eggs.
4. Generously grease your dishes with butter. 
5. Then wilt your spinach in a pan with literally just the water that is still clinging to it from washing it. Stir it around until it wilts, about two minutes over a medium heat. When it’s wilted, pour off the water and squeeze out any excess. Put the spinach into the bottom of the dishes. 
6. Then break eggs in. Pour the cream over. Grate nutmeg, and season. 
7. Now grate your cheese over, dot with small knobs of butter and pop in the oven. 
8. Give it no more than 15 minutes, this will be the amount of time it takes to make the eggs done but runny. (Check at 12 minutes if hard yolks make you sad, like they do me.)