Eggs Diablo on Soft Polenta
serves 4
Bake the eggs as you stir the polenta and brunch will be done in no time. I used stone ground cornmeal for the polenta, so it took longer to cook than a pre-cooked "instant" version. The creamy corny texture was worth the effort.Read more about this recipe at Karina's Kitchen.
polenta:
4 1/2 cups broth (vegetable or chicken)
1 cup yellow cornmeal (polenta)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
Diablo sauce:
2 cups spicy salsa
2 cups tomato sauce
1 4-ounce can chopped green chiles
A dash of good balsamic vinegar
4 cloves garlic, minced
Red pepper chili flakes, to taste
Fresh chopped cilantro or parsley, to taste
8 free-range organic eggs
optional: queso fresco, goat cheese or feta cheese, to taste
prep: 15 minutes
total: 40 minutes
heavy-bottomed pot
whisk
baking dish
4 warmed plates for serving
1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, bring the broth to a high simmer and pour the cornmeal into the simmering broth in an even, steady stream, whisking as you go. Keep stirring. This take a while. Hand the whisking job over to a willing and able assistant as you prepare the eggs. [Promise them chocolate, if you have to.]
3. Combine the Diablo Sauce ingredients in a deepish baking pan -- I used a 10 x 13-inch pan. Place the pan in the oven for ten minutes to heat the sauce. In the meantime, give your assistant a break on whisking the polenta, or busy yourself with selecting appropriate brunch music.
4. When you are about halfway through the polenta process (around the 10-15 minute mark) pull the pan from the oven and crack the eggs -- one at a time, preferably -- into the simmering sauce. Place the pan back into the hot oven. The sauce will poach the eggs in 10-15 minutes.
5. When the polenta has thickened and is pulling away from the sides of the pot a bit, add in the shredded cheese and season with sea salt and pepper, to taste. Remove the pot from the heat.
6. To serve: Spoon a circle of polenta on each of four warmed serving plates. Spoon some Diablo sauce over each mound of polenta. Top with two poached eggs. If there is any remaining sauce, spoon a little extra on each plate. Crumble a little queso fresco, goat, or feta, on each serving, if desired.
Note: If all goes well, the eggs and polenta will be done at the same time. My polenta took a little longer than I anticipated, so my poached eggs turned out a little more solid than I like. I should have pulled the pan from the oven and kept the eggs on the stove top until the polenta was ready.
2. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, bring the broth to a high simmer and pour the cornmeal into the simmering broth in an even, steady stream, whisking as you go. Keep stirring. This take a while. Hand the whisking job over to a willing and able assistant as you prepare the eggs. [Promise them chocolate, if you have to.]
3. Combine the Diablo Sauce ingredients in a deepish baking pan -- I used a 10 x 13-inch pan. Place the pan in the oven for ten minutes to heat the sauce. In the meantime, give your assistant a break on whisking the polenta, or busy yourself with selecting appropriate brunch music.
4. When you are about halfway through the polenta process (around the 10-15 minute mark) pull the pan from the oven and crack the eggs -- one at a time, preferably -- into the simmering sauce. Place the pan back into the hot oven. The sauce will poach the eggs in 10-15 minutes.
5. When the polenta has thickened and is pulling away from the sides of the pot a bit, add in the shredded cheese and season with sea salt and pepper, to taste. Remove the pot from the heat.
6. To serve: Spoon a circle of polenta on each of four warmed serving plates. Spoon some Diablo sauce over each mound of polenta. Top with two poached eggs. If there is any remaining sauce, spoon a little extra on each plate. Crumble a little queso fresco, goat, or feta, on each serving, if desired.
Note: If all goes well, the eggs and polenta will be done at the same time. My polenta took a little longer than I anticipated, so my poached eggs turned out a little more solid than I like. I should have pulled the pan from the oven and kept the eggs on the stove top until the polenta was ready.
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