Do you ever make something just because the picture is beautiful?  I saw this picture in Bon Appetit, and went nuts.  It was so beautiful, I just had to make it – it really didn’t matter at all what the ingredients were, or if it sounded delicious to me – I just had to see if I could recreate the scene.  I remember when most of my cookbooks contained very few, or no pictures at all.  You had to imagine what the dish would actually look like – sometimes I was right, and sometimes I was completely wrong.  It was kind of fun actually – but I have to say, when cookbooks started printing lots of pictures, I was hooked.  I would spend hours in the bookstore flipping through the pictures, looking at all of the beautiful food.  Now that we have the internet, I don’t have to even leave my house – and I am inundated with so many beautiful things to make. 

This dish was tasty, but it definitely looked better than it tasted.  Don’t get me wrong, there was hardly any leftovers – and there were only 4 of us eating – but I wouldn’t say it was one of my most favorite dishes.  It was a good meal – that looked spectacular – and pretty easy to make.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• Coarse kosher salt
• 1 8- to 10-ounce package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, drained
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice (preferably fire-roasted)
• 8 ounces red-skinned or white-skinned potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons drained capers
• 8 large eggs
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Heat olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion, chopped thyme, and crushed red pepper; sprinkle lightly with coarse kosher salt and sauté until onion is tender and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add artichokes and minced garlic; stir 1 minute. Stir in diced tomatoes with juice and bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover skillet and simmer 15 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

Meanwhile, cook potatoes in small saucepan of boiling salted water just until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain. Add potatoes and capers to tomato-artichoke sauce; cover and simmer 5 minutes. Season to taste with coarse salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Tomato-artichoke sauce can be made up to 6 hours ahead. Cool slightly, then cover and refrigerate. Rewarm sauce before continuing.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Pour tomato-artichoke sauce into 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Using back of spoon, make 8 evenly spaced indentations in sauce for holding eggs. Crack 1 egg into each indentation in sauce (some of eggs may run together slightly in spots). Bake until egg whites and yolks are softly set, 12 to 16 minutes. Carefully remove baking dish from oven; sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese over and serve.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here:  Eggs in Purgatory with Artichoke Hearts