Nonno’s Breakfast Special: Fried Tomatoes with Eggs

Nonno’s Breakfast Special: Fried tomatoes with eggs is what I call one of the rare dishes my father prepared for us on weekend mornings during the summer.  Just a few simple ingredients: fresh, vine ripened cherry tomatoes from the garden, eggs and plenty of fresh bread to make a savory, hearty meal!

Tomato season is finally upon us!  Is there anything better than vine ripened tomatoes, especially picked from your own garden? There’s nothing worse than those tasteless, white fleshed tomatoes we have to endure during the winter.   

I wait all year long to make this recipe. When my first batch of tomatoes ripen this fried tomatoes with eggs dish is the first thing I make. The second is probably Stewed Green Beans with Tomatoes! 

My mother did most of the cooking at our house. However, when I think of this dish I picture my father preparing it on a summer weekend morning. That amazing smell of tomatoes frying, fragrant with hot peppers just brings me back. The best part of this dish is dunking the fresh bread to soak up all the tomato juices!

We always use my mother’s green chili peppers which she preserves in oil each summer. My father’s cooking would always include several hot peppers. The hotter the better! My son has now developed quite a taste for them and I sadly think of how much they would have enjoyed eating their huge bowls of pasta topped with hot peppers together.

And for this reason I named this dish after my father. Although I call it the “breakfast special”, I must admit, we rarely make it for breakfast. Most often we enjoy it for lunch, or even for dinner.

How to make Fried tomatoes with eggs:

Rinse and cut the cherry tomatoes in half.  If using whole tomatoes, dice.

Sauté a diced onion in olive oil for 3-4 minutes.  Add the halved tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. The tomatoes will break down and release their juices. Add salt to taste and a few chili peppers, if desired. 

When the sauce has thickened, crack the eggs over the tomatoes and salt lightly.

Use a wooden spoon to scramble the eggs, thoroughly combining them with the tomato sauce. 

Serve hot with plenty of bread!

Tips and suggestions: 

• If you don’t have cherry tomatoes, substitute with regular tomatoes.
• My father always scrambled his eggs but another option would be to leave the eggs whole, cover and cook for a few minutes until desired level of doneness.
• Serve with lots of crusty, country style bread such as Semolina Bread with Sesame Seeds.

When I got back from my holiday last week I obviously didn’t have much in the fridge but a few eggs and luckily I had frozen some of my mother’s homemade bread. As luck would have it, my overgrown jungle of a garden was full of cherry tomatoes. We were all set for a fantastic lunch! 

I hope you enjoy this simple summer dish which is perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Don’t forget to follow along on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for all my upcoming recipes!