Skillet Baked Eggs with Cheese and Tomatoes

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

1. 1
   Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F).

   ⚙ Preheating the OvenOven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
2. 2
   Heat the olive oil in a wide ovenproof pan over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveFrying pan
3. 3
   Add the onion and fry 4 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
4. 4
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.

To assemble

1. 5
   Add the paprika and oregano and stir for a minute, until fragrant.
2. 6
   Add the tomatoes and season with salt and black pepper. Turn down the heat and simmer for 8 minutes, until the sauce thickens.

   ⚙ SimmeringStove

   💡The sauce is ready for the eggs when a spoon dragged across the bottom of the pan leaves a trail. A sauce that's too thin cooks the eggs in water, not in sauce.

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
3. 7
   Make wells in the sauce and crack an egg into each one, and sprinkle the cheese on top. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake 10–12 minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny and the cheese has melted.

   OvenFrying pan
4. 8
   Sprinkle the basil on top and serve immediately.