Here the “casserole” is a hollowed-out tomato shell and the chorizo is replaced with cured ham. A smattering of peas and asparagus in the sauce lightens things up a little and makes for a pretty plate.
Ingredients
- 6 large ripe tomatoes (about 8 ounces each)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing the tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 1 fresh thyme sprig
- 12 very thin slices serrano ham or prosciutto
- 6 extra-large eggs
- Tips from 1 bunch pencil-thin asparagus (about 2 cups)
- 1 cup frozen peas, defrosted Six ½-inch slices crusty country-style bread, panfried in olive oil until golden brown
How to Make It
- Cut ½ inch off the tops of the tomatoes. With a tablespoon, scoop out the pulp and seeds from the centers, leaving only the flesh that is attached to the skin. (This is important—the more pulp left behind, the greater the chances that the baked tomatoes will end up mushy.) Remove as many seeds from the pulp as you can easily; don’t worry if there are some seeds left in the pulp. Coarsely chop all the pulp. Cut a very thin sliver from the bottom of each tomato—the idea is to make the slice as thin as possible while creating a small hole at the bottom of the tomato, so that during and after baking, any liquid given off by the tomato will drain out of the bottom. Set the tomatoes, with the bottom slices replaced, on a rack over a baking sheet. Brush them lightly with olive oil and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped tomato pulp, the garlic, and thyme and bring to a boil, then adjust the heat so the sauce is simmering. Cook until most of the liquid the tomatoes give off is evaporated, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Line the inside of each tomato shell with 2 slices of the ham, overlapping and trimming the slices of ham as necessary so they cover the insides of the tomato entirely and the edges of the ham stick out of the tomato a little bit. (The edges will brown as the tomatoes bake and will look pretty.) Crack an egg into each tomato “basket.” Bake on the rack, until the tomatoes are softened and the eggs are cooked but the yolks are still runny, about 20 minutes. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and set them aside to rest while finishing the sauce.
- Return the sauce to a simmer and stir in the asparagus and peas. Cook just until the asparagus is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.
- To serve, remove the sprig of thyme and spoon the sauce over the centers of 6 plates. Using a slotted spoon, carefully lift each tomato off the rack, leaving the bottom slice behind, and hold it for a few seconds to drain off any liquid, then center the tomato over the sauce on each plate. Serve hot, with a piece of toast off to the side of each tomato.
