With all the tomatoes in the market now due to all the restaurants that are closed I thought what better time to explore new recipes - this is one of many to come.
Ingredients
6 large tomatoes - at least 3 inches in diameter
6 large eggs
1 head of Romaine
1/2 cup of Olive oil
1/2 cup of Romano Cheese
6 oz of pancetta, cubed
1/4 cup of Italian Parsley, chopped - just the leaves
2 Shallots, sliced in half and then thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of minced chives
Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
Cut the tops off the tomatoes, about 1/4 of an inch and set the tops aside. Scoop out the inside of the tomatoes, just the seeds, and the pulp, keep a good thick wall to the tomatoes, once done, place in a baking dish. I like to use small ones, that hold 2 tomatoes, as shown in the picture, I find its easier to control and handle.
Break apart the head of Romain, then cut the leaves from the stems. Tear up the leaves, chop and reserve the stems.
Take about 4 cups of the leaves and place them in a food processor, along with the garlic and parsley. Pulse to chop enough to reduce the volume by a third. Now add the Romano cheese, and turn the processor on a slowly add the olive oil until a firm pesto has formed.
Place about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the pesto in each of the tomatoes, then crack an egg in each, place the "Lid" of the tomatoes as shown in the picture and place in the oven for about 18 minutes. You want the white of the eggs set up the yolk still runny. I usually check at the 10-minute mark to see how they are doing.
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and render off the pancetta. Once crispy remove pancetta placing it on a paper towel. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat in the skillet.
Now add the shallots to the skillet and saute until tender about 2 minutes, next add the remaining Romaine and the stems and saute until the lettuce is wilted and the stems are tender but crisp about 3 minutes, Remove from heat, taste and season according. Divide the mixture among six plates, sprinkle with the crispy pancetta and place a tomato on each plate and garnish with chives and some additional Romano cheese.