Eggs poached in tomato sauce

On a recent Sunday morning I picked fresh tomatoes and chiles in our garden and made this simple dish. It was like eating summer for breakfast.

It's similar to huevos rancheros or ratatouille with poached eggs. Best of all, it's quick to make and uses only one pan.

Use chiles to your taste. I used a mild banana, medium anaheim and spicy serrano, mainly because those were ready to pick. Leave the seeds in to make it hotter. Or use green pepper for a mild dish. A little basil added at the end would be nice.

Serve with warm buttered baguette to sop up all the delicious tomato sauce.

Don't feel like eggs? This bright simple sauce would be great on pasta or spooned over potatoes or rice.

Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup diced onion
small clove garlic, minced
3 chiles, seeded and diced
1 1/2 cups diced tomato
salt and pepper
4 eggs

Warm the olive oil in an eight-inch skillet with raised sides.

Sauté the diced onion until it is soft. Add the garlic and peppers and cook another 3 minutes until the peppers are soft and the onions are lightly golden. Stir in the tomato, season with salt and pepper, and let the sauce cook down until it is thick. Depending on how juicy your tomatoes are, this could take 5-10 minutes.

Make four holes in the sauce and crack an egg into each one. (You would be wise to crack the eggs into a small bowl first, but I never do.) The yolk will stay in the hole but the white will spread into the tomato sauce a little. Cover with a lid and let cook 3 minutes before you peek. I like the white fully cooked but the yolk runny, which takes about 7 minutes, depending on the freshness of the egg.

When they're the way you like them, spoon the eggs onto plates and surround with the remaining sauce.

Serves 2.