Eggs Sofrito

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                            FOOD FUNNY
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Here's another good one from Rosemary Zwick:

A man calls home to his wife and says, "Honey, I have been
asked to fly to Canada with my boss and several of his friends
for fishing. We'll be gone for a long weekend. This is a good
opportunity for me to get that promotion I've been wanting so
could you please pack enough clothes for a 3-day weekend?
And also would you get out my rod and tackle box from the
attic? We're leaving at 4:30 PM from the office and I will swing
by the house to pick my things up. Oh! And please pack my
new navy blue silk pajamas."

The wife thinks this sounds a bit odd, but being the good wife,
she does exactly what her husband asked. Following the long
weekend he came home a little tired, but, otherwise, looking
good. The wife welcomes him home and asks if he caught
many fish. He says, "Yes! Lots of walleyes, some bass, and
a few pike. Why didn't you pack my new blue silk pajamas like
I asked you to do?"

The wife replies, "I did, they're in your tackle box."

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                            TODAY'S RECIPE
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This dish originated in Spain, where sofrito means "lightly fried"
and refers to the sauce. There are as many recipes for sofrito
as there are cooks in Spain, and I think you'll enjoy this one.
You can make the sofrito the day before and store it in the refrigerator
overnight.

Eggs Sofrito

For the sauce:
1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil
1/2 cup (125 ml) finely chopped onions
1 Tbs (15 ml) finely chopped garlic
1 small red or green bell pepper (capsicum), seeds and ribs removed,
finely chopped
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
1/2 cup (125 ml) finely diced serrano ham* or prosciutto
1 chorizo*, sliced into 1/4 in (5 mm) rounds, or 3 oz (75 g) other
garlic seasoned pork sausage
1 Tbs (15 ml) finely chopped parsley
1 small bay (laurel) leaf
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/3 cup (80 ml) water

*Available in Spanish specialty shops and some supermarkets

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over moderate heat. Add the
onions, garlic, and chopped pepper and cook for 5 minutes,
stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft but not brown.
Stir in the remaining ingredients and cook uncovered until most
of the liquid has evaporated. Set aside.

For the eggs:
2 tsp (10 ml) olive oil
6 eggs
1/2 cup (125 ml) hot cooked fresh or frozen green peas
6 hot cooked fresh or canned asparagus tips
6 to 8 strips of drained, canned pimiento
3 Tbs (45 ml) pale dry sherry
Parsley sprigs (optional)

Coat a 9x9x2 in (25x25x5 cm) baking dish with the 2 teaspoons
of oil. Spread the sofrito evenly in the dish, discarding the bay
leaf. Break the eggs and place them in a circle on top of the
sofrito. (Hint: you may want to break the eggs into a saucer
and slide them into place on the sofrito) Now here is where
your artistic talent comes in. Arrange the peas in mounds on
the sofrito, and arrange the asparagus around or between the
eggs. Drape a pimiento slice over each asparagus tip. Sprinkle
the eggs and the vegetables with the sherry, cover the dish,
and bake in a 400F (200C) oven for about 20 minutes, until an
opaque film has formed over the yolks and the egg whites are
firm. Serve at once, garnished with parsley.
Serves 6.
Received on Mon Sep 27 08:54:11 2010