Tomato Soup with Poached Eggs

It’s freezing here.

Okay, so it’s really freezing at night, but we’re still only getting into the 40’s during the day. What happened to our mild winters? At least it’s been foggy sunny. I’ll take that over the rain any day.

It’s totally soup weather, though. Or anything comforting, really.

But I wasn’t in the mood to go to the store last night, so soup was on the menu. It’s a super simple tomato soup, nothing fancy at all. The star of the show is poaching eggs. Yes, in the soup. Now that is something I can get into. I love poached eggs. I love like tomato soup most of the time [depends on how brothy it is]. When you break into the egg, the yolk adds creaminess to the soup. It’s divine.

If you have some crusty bread, you can put it on the base of the bowl and ladle your soup and egg over the top. I’m not a fan of mushy bread, so that didn’t happen. At all. I still toasted some regular cracked wheat for dipping. I also sprinkled some blue cheese in there because I’m a rebel.

So good.

Inspiration: Framed Cooks

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• Red chile flakes, to taste
• 28oz can [jar] of chopped tomatoes [thanks, Grammy!]
• 2 cups of water
• Salt
• Fresh cracked pepper
• 4 large eggs [I only used two since I knew I would only be eating two that night. Overnight poached eggs are a no].
• Bread, for serving
• Blue cheese, for sprinkling
• Fresh/dried basil, for garnish

Preparation

1. In a deep walled skillet, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan on medium heat.
2. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic. Saute until it starts to change colors.
3. Add tomatoes, a pinch of chile flakes, salt and pepper. Go light. You can always add more later.
4. Bring to a boil.
5. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and cover.
6. Leave simmering for 10 minutes, tasting occasionally and adding more chile, salt, or pepper as necessary. I used a ton of chile flakes and cracked pepper.
7. Once the 10 minutes are up, crack a single egg into a bowl.
8. Pour the egg from the bowl into the simmering soup.
9. Repeat for as many eggs as you’re using.
10. Cover the soup again for 3-4 minutes until the egg whites are cooked and yolk is to your desired consistency.
11. Toast bread for consumption, either in the broiler or toaster. Put it in your soup or dip. Your choice.
12. Ladle the soup and eggs into a bowl, top with basil and blue cheese if using.
13. Enjoy.