A few weeks back, Earth Eats did a podcast with Chef Orr’s recipe for Woodstone Oven Eggs.  I didn’t have all the ingredients for his version, and I’ve never been a big artichoke person, so I decided to modify it and make it my own way.  I love doing this with recipes, and I think it’s a necessary skill for anyone who prepares their own food.  It helps reduce waste, and that’s happily sustainable.

I’m going to try and walk through the steps I took in changing up this recipe.  Hopefully, it will help people who are less comfortable with cooking to take that leap from rigid recipe following to improvisation.

Here are the ingredients Chef Orr recommends, followed by my substitutions:

• 1 pound local Italian-style sausage [I used 2 apple chicken sausages made by Lou's Famous Sausage, diced]
• 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon chili flakes [Same]
• 1 tablespoon each: rosemary and thyme, chopped [I used the fresh thyme from my Aerogarden, no rosemary]
• 3 tomatoes, roughly chopped [10 Tbsp of canned crushed tomatoes]
• 1/2 yellow pepper, roughly chopped
• 1/2 red pepper, roughly chopped
• 1 can artichoke bottoms, diced [1 stalk broccoli, chopped]
• 1 cup tomato juice [2 Tbsp water added to get more juice from crushed tomatoes]
• 4 red skin potatoes, quartered and cooked just tender [2 red potatoes, skins on]
• 4 Yukon gold potatoes, quartered and cooked just tender
• kosher salt and black pepper [Same]
• 12 farm-fresh eggs [5 Indiana eggs from pastured chickens]
• 1/2 cup cheese of choice, grated (a mixture of Parmesan and Gruyere is nice) [1/4 cup Parmesan]

I also added in a few extra ingredients to make it my own:

• 1/4 red onion, diced
• 1 leek, sliced into discs
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

As you can see, I made quite a few changes to the ingredients!  The potato, eggs, cheese, sausage, and herbs were the only items that stayed the same.  But the overall idea behind the dish—a casserole of veggies topped with whole, oven-baked eggs—was unchanged.

The cooking process was delightfully simple.  I chopped up the potatoes, onions, leeks, and sausage (which is pre-cooked), and tossed those around in a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil, until the onions were translucent and the potatoes softened.

I added the crushed tomatoes and water, and sprinkled chili flakes and fresh thyme into the pan, and tossed to coat the veggies.  I covered this mixture, letting it simmer for about 10 more minutes to allow the potatoes to get cooked through and the flavors to combine.

Add the broccoli once the potatoes have cooked through and are soft, and allow this combination to simmer for just 5 minutes more. You don’t want the broccoli to get overcooked, as it will also have time to roast in the oven.  Use the extra tablespoon of olive oil to grease your pan, then add the vegetable mixture.

Crack the eggs into a separate bowl, then carefully (without breaking the yolk) pour them over the top of the vegetables.  I pushed around my veggies to make little pockets so the yolks would sit just where I wanted them.

Top it off with some parmesan cheese, or another grated variety of your choice. I didn’t have a woodstone oven on hand, so I heated my oven to about 375 F.  I like my eggs well-done, so I cooked this for about 20 minutes.  For runnier eggs, use less time or a lower temperature.  Since all the other ingredients are cooked beforehand, you don’t have to worry about doneness for anything but the eggs.

This is a great recipe for experimentation and improvisation. Try this out with whatever veggies you have in your fridge, try different cheese. I think it would be great with some pureed squash of the butternut or pumpkin variety, spiced with grated nutmeg.  Bacon would be a nice substitute for sausage–but meat’s not necessary.  This can easily be altered to be vegetarian.

Here’s my recipe laid out all together with ingredients and method.

Woodstone oven eggs with broccoli and leeks

Ingredients:

• 2 apple chicken sausages made by Lou’s Famous Sausage, diced
• 1/4 red onion, diced
• 1 leek, sliced into discs
• 1 teaspoon chili flakes
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme from my Aerogarden, no rosemary
• 10 Tbsp of canned crushed tomatoes
• 1 stalk broccoli, chopped
• 2 Tbsp water added to get more juice from crushed tomatoes
• 2 red potatoes, skins on
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 5 Indiana eggs from pastured chickens
• 1/4 cup Parmesan
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Method:

1. Saute leeks, onion, sausages, and potatoes on medium heat for about 5-10 minutes, or until onions are translucent.
2. Add tomato and water and simmer for another 10-15 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally.
3. Add chili flakes and fresh thyme, and chopped broccoli, simmer covered for another 5 minutes.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Pour this mixture into a greased casserole dish.
6. Sprinkle half parmesan cheese on top.  Crack eggs in a separate dish, keeping yolks intact, and pour over the top of the vegetables in casserole dish.
7. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over top, bake in oven for 10-20 minutes, or until eggs are cooked to desirable hardness.